Millennial Rose
by BurningPeace
Summary: Centuries have past since the fall of the White Fang. Team RWBY went on to be successful huntresses, and lived full, happy lives. Humans and Faunus alike have expanded far beyond Remnant, and now hold a powerful stake in the galaxy. But darkness is creeping back in, and the people are in need of heroes once more. Distant Future! AU, expect violence.
1. The Pilot

"There's too many of them!"

"We have hostile reinforcements, inbound!"

"Where did they coming from?"

"What are they doing here?!"

"Oh god, look at the size of that thing!"

Countless panicked voices shouted over the radio, downing each other out. The chain of command was broken, and all that remained was fear. Explosions flickered in the distances as the voices in the radio dropped off, one at a time.

'Time of peace, my ass,' Ruby Rose thought from her cockpit. It wasn't supposed to be like this. This was supposed to be a simple lesson, training recruits the basics of space combat, in the middle of human controlled space. Hell, this area was supposed to have been cleared of raiders for generations. So how had it devolved to a desperate fight for their lives?

Black Beowolf fighters poured out of an equally black behemoth, hunting down the white fighters that the students flew. These kids were supposed to be the best of the best, earning top marks on their simulations, but they had never seen a second of true combat. They were sitting ducks out there, exposed from every angle, with no hope for surviving.

Suddenly, Ruby's radio cut out, silencing all the shouting and replacing it with calming white noise. After a few moments, words cut through the static. "Demon, are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here captain."

"This battle is lost. All other instructors have been shot down. The Grimm caught us completely off-guard. The Signal isn't getting out of this."

"Don't say that. We just need to get the rookies together. We can jump to the next sector, where the Beacon is waiting."

"That last shot from that Drake class blew out our jump drive. Half the ship is sealed against decompression, and the hanger is filled with more wrecks the crewmen. Signal the retreat and get out of here, while you still can."

"No." Ruby's voice was cold and level, leaving little room for argument.

"Demon, this is not the…"

"Dad, I won't leave you."

"It's too late, little Rose."

"IT'S NEVER TOO LATE, DAMN IT!" Ruby cracked, shouted into the mike. "You're the one who taught me that. So I'm not leaving, not until every one of these black bastards are blasted from the stars."

"Demon…" the radio cut out as Ruby switched back to the open channel.

"This is Demon. All fighters, report in."

"MS. ROSE, HELP!" The cry carried on for a second, before cutting out, accompanied by a flash of light in the distance.

"Demon, this Talon 1. Raptor and Eagle flights have all been shot down. I'm the last one still up from Talon. Falcon 2 and 3 are the only ones with responding coms, but I can't get a hold of either of them… I think we're all that's left."

'No,' Ruby thought. 'No, this can't be. We left the hanger with over 40 students and 10 instructors, how can that be all that's left? We haven't even been at it for 10 minutes.'

"Demon, this is Talon 1… I found Falcon 2 and 3..."

"Talon 1, what is your position?"

"Ma'am, they weren't shot down…"

"Talon 1, tell me where you are!"

"I guess it's never too soon to be a traitor…"

And then the radio fell silent. Nothing but static roared in Ruby's ears as she watched a brief flash in the distance. All her students were dead. They were her reasonability, and they were dead.

And she sure as hell wasn't about to let that slide. With a flick of her wrist, a halo-map of the battlefield deployed on her dash. Before her, a small cluster of about 10 red dots flying in arrowhead formation advanced on her. It was an effective formation for space combat. Essentially two wedge formations stacked perpendicular to each other, it applied the tactics of an older era to the much more maneuverable vacuum of space. It was the conventional formation of modern space combat and would work well against any average pilot.

Shame Ruby wasn't an average pilot. "Alright Petals, let's see how those modifications treat ya," Ruby muttered to her ship while flipping a series of switches. Quickly, the heat sinks in the tail end of her fighter kicked up, and optical camouflage activated around her hull. She became a ghost, one that shortly would seek vengeance for her fallen charges.

"Computer, detach all training blanks from the spacecraft, and prepare the underwing particle accelerators. Disengage safety restraints, and prepare attachment 4A."

"Warning: attachment 4A has yet to be tested. Command approval required," an electronic voice called out in response to Ruby.

"Override, Thus Kindly I Scatter."

"Override accepted." A small buzzing could be heard, as inside Ruby's control handles a small device turned about to face into Ruby's palms. "All systems are prepared for combat. Switching to auto repair mode. Good luck, Ms. Rose." Then the electronic voice cut out, leaving Ruby in an eerie silence.

With a quick flick of a switch, Ruby turned her radio back to the secure link to the bridge. "Demon to bridge, preparing to engage enemy."

"Demon, disengage. I don't care if you're not military, I don't care how good you are. You cannot stop them alone. So I am ordering you, as both your father and superior, abandon the battle zone. Rendezvoused with the Beacon, and contact Ozpin. You know what needs to be done."

"I never said I would stop them," Ruby replied calmly. "I'm buy you time to steer the bucket of bolts to where the Beacon can hear our distress signal. You can tell Ozpin what happened out here yourself. Besides, I get to test out my new toy."

"Demon, please tell me that doesn't mean what I think it means."

Ruby didn't reply. Instead she throttled forward, rocketing towards her targets. As she drew closer, she called out, "Computer, on my signal, shut down all stealth programs. Transfer all computing power to auto-repair and countermeasure functions… Now!"

Instantly, her camouflage dropped, and she opened fired on her unsuspecting prey. Strafing as she fired, she pelted the lead ship and the two to its left. Briefly, the first two cockpits lit up, before spiraling out away from the formation. The lead ship even collided with the one below it, tearing both ships apart almost instantly. The final ship on Ruby's list noticed the attack, and attempted to swing away from the incoming shrapnel and prepare a counter attack. Unfortunately for them, Ruby still managed to clip one of the underwing missiles. As Ruby shot by the 7 remaining ships, they each attempted to get a lock on her. As they armed their missiles for combat, a sudden explosion sent more debris rocketing into space, as the damaged missile destroyed the fighter before its pilot even truly saw Ruby's ship. With Ruby now behind them, the remaining ships engaged their three-dimensional engines, swinging themselves about to give Ruby chase.

As Ruby watched the ships come about, a small smile came to her face. Now was the time to test out her new toy. She closed her eyes briefly, and allowed the warmth of her heart spread throughout her body, reaching from her toes to her fingertips. When she reopened her eyes, she was encased in a soft red glow, and the test equipment she had activated began its work. Slowly, her entire ship became encased in the soft glow, causing it to stand out in the black of space.

That is, until it disappeared yet again, leaving nothing behind but a few red specks that lightly drifted through empty space. Her pursuers attempted to give chase, until they realized there was nothing left to case. This wasn't stealth, the ship was simply gone.

Suddenly, a flurry of red shot by, and two more ships disappeared in brief balls of flame as their oxygen ignited. Another shot of red, and another two ships. Finally, one of the black ship's pilots noticed that the red left behind wasn't just engine exhaust. They were petals, left to drift through space. That was when the third streak shot by.

* * *

"Demon to Signal, come in Signal."

"Demon, this is Signal. Good job taking care of that flight. I guess we can consider your aura drive a success."

"I guess we can. Have you escaped the battle zone yet?" Ruby replied, secretly relieved that her Dad's voice was still there to reply to her.

"I'm afraid not Demon. While you dealt with that squad, they had a second flight attack our engines. We're dead in the water. I've ordered the abandon ship, but most the escape pods have been lost in various explosions. The bridge has all agreed to stand to the last man, to give the students onboard a chance…"

"Dad, no, there must by some way. There must be some way out of this! I can come back for you, I can…" And explosion cut Ruby off, shaking her entire fighter as it did.

"Ruby? What was that? Are you still there?!" Her father's concerned voice called over the radio.

"Yeah, I'm here. Computer, what the hell was that?!" Ruby replied, annoyance edging her voice.

"It appears that the main engines have blown out. Despite the assistance of the test attachment 4A, it appears that the engines were unable to maintain our high speed."

"Estimation until auto-repair completion."

"Auto-repair impossible, heat of engines has melted surrounding casing."

"Ruby, I'm getting the diagnostic here. You're not making it back here. Not now. Just go. Get a hold of the Beacon and let them know what happened."

"Dad, no, I can't leave you…" Ruby replied, tears starting to build up in the corners of her eyes. "Not after Mom. What will I tell Yang?"

"Tell her I love her. And you. Both of you are my lights in this dark world. So go out and live. Go out and find love. Find the happiness that I had with your mother. And always remember, I'm so proud of both of you. I love you."

After that, Ruby wasn't sure what happened. An alarm started to blare over the radio, and panicked voices called out in the background. The final 'I love you,' was the last clear thing Ruby heard, before the radio cut out completely, accompanied by a brief flash of light. But Ruby couldn't bring herself to look about. She couldn't force herself to look back at the destruction she was sure was there. All she could do was keep moving forward.

* * *

"Blake Belladonna, where do you think you're going?!" A concerned voice called out.

Blake froze, one leg resting on either of the stone wall. She had been so close. So close to escaping for a few hours of silence. Anything to get away from the damn orphanage for some peace.

"What, you think you could get away from this hell, and leave me here alone?" Velvet said idly as she jumped up next to Blake. A small smile adorned her face, one that Blake matched when she realized just who it was that had caught her.

Velvet Scarlatina, the one good thing about Blake's life so far. She was the only other Faunus at the orphanage, and had become fast friends with Blake. They looked out for each other, protecting one another from any prejudice that should arise. Faunus standing was better than it had been centuries ago, but there was always those holdouts that refused to accept that everyone had every right to keep existing. But times were looking up. The other day, some boy they didn't even know had stood up for them. Sure, he was a klutz, and a bit goofy, but the fact that he was willing to defend them had meant more to the both of them than he would ever understand.

And now here Velvet was, brushing her brown hair aside as she walked up to Blake, her heels clicking with each step on the paved walkway.

"You know how it is, Velvet," Blake said to the rabbit Faunus. "The young ones get rowdy, and the head-bitch gets on my ass to straighten them out. They've never listened to me before. Why would that change now?"

"Oh, you know that's not true," Velvet chided her part cat companion. "They all look up to you. Blake Belladonna, the hero of Verterre orphanage, defender of the defenseless. The one who singlehandedly drove off a hoard of vicious bandits."

"Stop, you know that's not how it happened," Blake sighed, having long since grown tired of this story.

But Velvet kept right on going, leaping to the other side of the wall as she did. "Isn't it now? All I know is that you went out on your own to face the bandits terrorizing our little settlement with nothing but that weapon your parents left you, and came back without even a scratch. The bandits, on the other hand, haven't shown their faces around here since. If that doesn't make you a hero, I don't know what does."

Blake smiled lightly as she jumped down beside her friend, resting her hand on Gambol Shroud as she landed. Even if it was a dangerous weapon, it was a family heirloom, and it felt right to have it on her. After all, it was all she had left to remember her parents. "It was nothing big. I told them to fuck off, and they did. End of story."

"Blake, watch your tongue. I know we're outside the orphanage, but we're literally only 5 steps away. The kids could hear you."

"Sorry, sorry. If forgot, we've got to protect those innocent ears as long as we can," Blake chuckled, walking past Velvet and down the path toward the forest. They both felt more at peace there. A place to escape the worries of daily life. A place where they could just be themselves, instead of the role models they needed to be.

They walked in silence for a bit, abandoning the path almost as soon as they reached the wooded area. It was not problem, as they both had a near perfect sense of direction. Not a benefit of being Faunus, just out of years of practice walking out in these woods late at night.

"Hey Blake," Velvet asked, breaking the silence. "What are we going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Blake asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"I mean, what are we going to do now? You just turned 18, and I do next week. You know that the orphanage doesn't keep anyone over 18."

"So, we still till the end of the year," Blake shrugged. In truth, she already had plans. Big plans. She just wasn't sure Velvet was ready for them. She wasn't sure the rabbit Faunus would be ready to leave this life behind. To abandon the planet of their birth. Blake was going to follow her parent's footsteps. She was going to be a Hunter.

The only problem with that was that no one believed in the Hunters. No one believed in the defenders of old. The heroes that had stopped Remnant from falling into a new dark age. They used to be the greatest warriors that ever lived, but that was when the human and Faunus races only lived on one planet. Now-a-days, they were nothing more than a legend. A story told to children as they were tucked in at night.

Or so people thought. But Blake knew better. She knew the Hunters were will out there. Somewhere, protecting the innocent. They hadn't be lost to the flow of time. No, they had just adjusted, fitting into the role where they were needed most.

Blake had been training for a long time. She had the skills needed to survive in almost any environment. She had the endurance to run at top speeds for almost 4 hours. She even had the strength and muscle control required to handle her notoriously complicated weapon.

And almost any moment she wasn't training, she was in the local library, connected to the planetary net. She read anything she could get her hands on related to the Hunters in any way, be it classical stories or military aircraft spec. If she could find it, she had read it.

The only thing she was lacking in was combat training. Sure, she had driven off those thugs, but that had been almost too easy. One fool rushed her clumsily, and she just flipped him. No one was actually hurt, and no weapons were drawn. They just left, muttering something about having to find a new mark.

"Blake? Yoo-hoo? Anyone home?" Velvet asked, waving a hand before Blake's eyes.

Blake blinked back into reality, blushing as she realized she had lost herself in thought. "Sorry Velvet, you just got me thinking."

"See, I knew you had plan. Trying to brush me off like it was nothing. I know you better than that," Velvet scolded with a light smile. Blake sighed lightly, knowing the Velvet wasn't the type to back down once she made her point. No, she was going to drive it home until Blake told her the truth.

"Alright, you caught me. You see…" But Blake trailed off, looking up through the canopy above. "What the hell…?"

"Hey, don't try to change the subject," Velvet cut in.

"No really, what the hell is that?" Blake asked, pointing up through the tree tops. Velvet followed her finger, and gasped as she spotted the massive fireball sailing through the sky.

"Oh no, it looks like a ship! Someone's crashing!" Velvet gasped, panicking for the person she didn't even know. She spun about to face Blake. "What are we going to do?"

"Run back to the town," Blake said, not taking her eyes off the burning ship. "Tell them what's happening. And to send help, we don't know who's on that ship, or what kind of situation they're in."

"But what about you?" Velvet asked, concern crossing her soft features. "Don't tell me you intend to…"

"Someone needs to be there if they need first aid. You never know what might happen." Blake said setting off in what seemed like the right direction.

"But what if they're dangerous?" Velvet pressed, concern for her friend evident.

"Don't worry," Blake called back as she started to run. "I've got it covered!" She gave Gambol Shroud's handle two quick pats before taking off at full speed, leaving her friend behind.

* * *

The ship hadn't landed far from Blake's orphanage, less than an hour run for her. Of course, that kind of distance would take most people in town at least three hours to cover, but if the person need any immediate help, at least Blake would be there.

Blake slowed to a walk as she came up on the crash site. It appeared the pilot had some skill, and managed to maneuver the ship around manually, despite their crash course. They had prevented the ship from nose diving after they entered the atmosphere, and most like saved both their life, and the life of everyone within a mile radius.

As Blake drew closer to the downed ship, the smell of wood smoke filled her nostrils. It appeared that the crash landing had started a small forest fire. No surprise there, considering how the ship had made its entry. She made a mental note to make sure that the fire didn't spread, but first she had to assure the pilot survived the impact. And even if they had, they more than likely needed help. Not many people could walk away from a crash like this without a scratch.

Finally, she entered the newly created clearing where the ship had come to rest. A long path stretched out behind in where it had torn the earth to pieces, and a number of trees lay cut in two. Not broken, cleanly cut. A small trail of metallic parts littered the woods, coming up on the actually wreck. It appeared to be a fighter, but Blake had never seen a fighter like this before. Nothing about it followed regulation. The engine was mostly gone, but Blake could still tell that it wasn't anywhere near military specs. No, it was far, far more powerful. On top of that, it had particle accelerators under the wings as opposed to the usual plasma missiles. And that was completely ignoring the fact that, somehow, these wings had managed to stay attached despite crashing through a few dozen trees. As to how, Blake wasn't entirely sure, but that might have had something to do with the visible edge that gleamed along the front of the wings. 'Well,' Blake thought, 'That explains why the trees were cut in two.'

Slowly, she made her way to the cockpit, almost afraid of what sort of person would pilot such a strangely altered ship. But as she climbed atop the smoking wreckage to get a good view inside the cockpit, she was faced with yet another shock.

Nothing. There was no one in the cockpit. The first thing she noticed was that the side of the glass was blasted outward, which was in and of itself a feat, considering the conditions that cockpit glass was designed to withstand. The second thing she noticed was the severe lack of blood. The cockpit was in shreds, almost as if someone had taken a hammer to most the consoles. Yet despite that, she couldn't see a single spec of blood. She couldn't smell any either. And that could only mean one thing.

"How the hell could the pilot walk away after all this?" Blake asked aloud, not really expecting an answer. And she definitely wasn't expecting the sound of round being loaded into a chamber to greet her as she jumped down from the wreckage.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" A voice called out.

* * *

"Who are you?" Ruby demanded the strange girl. She looked like a normal enough Faunus, even if she hid her ears beneath a bow. She had long black hair, reaching down to the middle of her back, and the clothing to match. She had a simple black jacket with the sleeves rolled up and relaxed black pants with a single purple stripe, hiding the athletic body that Ruby knew was there. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gotten to the middle of nowhere so quickly, or jumped up onto her ship with such ease.

"My name's Blake," the girl said, her hands in the air as she slowly turned to face Ruby. "Look, I'm not out here looking for trouble. I saw your ship here during re-entry, and I thought you might need help. Obviously, I was mistaken…"

"Yes, you were. What system am I in?" Ruby continued, not wanting to waste time.

"The Piax system. Vytal Federation," Blake replied, hands still in the air.

Ruby sighed as she heard that, and lowed Crescent Rose. She never thought she would have to bring out both her new toys in the same day, but hey, life is full of surprises. The firepower test had proven successful when it had blown out the cockpit window, but she wasn't yet prepared for human tests. Not on an innocent girl. Ruby glanced up again, seeing the girl start to relax, but slowly reach for the hilt of a weapon over her shoulder. A very familiar hilt…

But before Ruby could continue that thought, a sonic boom sounded out, causing both women to look up at the sky once again. Once again, a fireball was arcing across the sky. The only difference was, this time, there was no trail of smoke billowing behind it. This time, the entry had been completely intentional.

"Shit…" Ruby said under her breath, but she didn't miss the bow atop Blake's head twitch.

"Friends of yours?" Blake asked hopefully, but her voice gave away the fear she was feeling. She knew the truth, even without being told.

"Nope. Looks like they found me. Listen, I want you to run away from here, as fast as you can. It's about to get ugly. You look to be in pretty good shape, even by Faunus standards. I bet you could probably make it to the next town within the hour right? Go get the guard. The army. Whatever it is you have, go get them, because shit's about to get ugly."

* * *

Blake froze as soon this strange girl called her a Faunus. She didn't remember mentioning anything of the sort, and she was wearing her bow, so how the hell did this woman know?

In the back of her mind, Blake realized that this woman was giving her an order, telling her to get the guard from the nearest town. But that wouldn't work. They were a small colony. The closest thing they had to a guard was the AA tower located in the center of the main settlement. An AA tower that apparently need to be recalibrated.

So rather than run off into the woods, and leave this girl alone, Blake walked up beside her, drawing Gambol Shroud as she did.

"Sorry to burst your bubble," Blake said lightly, "but I'm the best you're going to get."

"Is that right?" The girl said without looking away from the descending ship. "In that case, the names Ruby. Good to meet you Blake. Hope we have a chance to actually get to know each other…"

Blake glanced at the girl beside her, wondering what had brought about such a comment. Was whatever was following her such a threat that she didn't think they would both make it out alive?

Blake took this moment to actually look over who she was going to be fighting with. Whoever she was, she didn't appear to be any older than Blake. But she stood with such confidence that one could easily mistake her as an older woman. She had short black hair, ending in dark red tips. Much like Blake, she appeared to have an affinity for the color black, as she had been wearing a black flight suit with two read strips, with its arms now tied around her waist. For a top she was wearing a skin tight black shirt with red sleeves stopping just past the shoulders. A shirt sculpted to her heavily muscled body. A shirt that seemed fit to burst at the seams as the woman slung her rifle over her shoulder, those same muscles rippling with every movement. Blake had to tear her eyes away from the very picture of fitness that stood before her.

"What sort of weapon is that?" Blake called out, honestly curious. "I've never seen a rifle like that before."

"And you never will again. Crescent Rose is a one-of-a-kind multi-stage sniper rifle," Ruby called out as she jumped up on her fighter, with almost as much ease as Blake had. With a flick of her wrist, Ruby managed to lift the cockpit canopy, reaching what looked like a red cloak that she fastened around her shoulders before jumping back off the frame. "Designed her myself, just like Scattered Petals here," Ruby said with a loving pat on her downed ship. "Now let's get set up, they're going to follow the smoke here, and I'd rather be ready for them than caught by surprise."

"Who is this 'them', anyways?" Blake pressed, following Ruby as she began to walk towards the tree line.

Ruby never stopped walking, just looking over her shoulder with a very serious expression. "The Grimm, of course."

* * *

'Holy hell,' Blake thought as she gazed out from her hiding place. 'She really was being chased by Grimm…'

Sure enough, a small group of black clad figures had entered the clearing shortly after the fireball in the sky had fallen beneath the canopy. Three of them now scrambled over the red frame of the fighter, all hoisting weapons Blake had never seen before. A fourth was scanning the area around the crash, but they had yet to look in Blake's direction.

Each of them moved strangely, as if a couple had backwards knee joints, and the others had no knee joints to speak of. One even skittered about on all fours, moving far too quick for Blake's taste.

The last thing Ruby had said to her before vanishing into the woods still echoed in Blake's mind. "I'm going to get some high ground. That mountain over there," Ruby had indicated with a nod of her head, "should get me up high enough to see down into the clearing. I'll be there, and I should be able to handle anything that walks in with Rose here," Ruby had finished, patting the weapon the rested on her back. "You, on the other hand, are to stay close by. That weapon you've got there looks like it specializes in quick attacks, and to do that, you need to be close by. Just make sure no stragglers get away. Honestly, I should be able to get them all, but if one does escape, a single cut to anywhere on the suit should take care of them. This is a nitrogen based atmosphere, right?" Ruby had asked, earning a nod from Blake. Ruby grinned lightly at the acquired knowledge. "Completely toxic to them. Anything that isn't at least 80% oxygen is deadly, and were going to use that to our advantage. So stay low, and wait for me to make the first move. Any stragglers are yours."

She had made its sound so simple. Yet here these, things, were, skittering about on all fours or awkwardly bobbing as they took each step. This was nothing that Blake had prepared for. The Grimm weren't supposed to be this deep in Federation controlled space. Hell, they weren't even supposed to be on this side of the galaxy. She had expected space pirates, or even a Mistral invasion before she ever expected to see aliens.

Suddenly, a rough hand grabbed her shoulder, and threw her through the tree line into the clearing. Blake rolled as she landed, drawing her Gambol Shroud as she did. She faced her attacker, her eyes gleaming and her grip tight. Slowly, a massive figure in the same black suit as the rest entered the clearing. On its shoulders rested bright yellow pads, probably suggesting a position of command. But all that mattered was they had exposed Blake, and she was surrounded on all sides. And there was no way Ruby was in position yet. She had left less than an hour ago, and that mountain was over a kilometer away. Blake could make it easy, but not some human. No, Blake was going to have to do this on her own.

Or so she thought. It was at that precise moment that the domed helmet the commanding Grimm wore shattered, accompanied by the thud of gunfire a distance away. 'How the hell…' Blake's mind began, but was quickly interrupted as she was forced to block a swing from a strange weapon the Grimm carried. Through the tinted black dome, Blake could almost see the angry red eyes that she knew were there.

Thinking quick, she spun about, taking out the legs of her opponent with a swift kick, and drawing the katana blade of Gambol Shroud from its sheath. With a quick flick, she used the sheath to deflect the blade the downed Grimm carried, and plunged the katana into what she assumed was the Grimm's chest. A high pitch screech filled the air, but that quickly died out, and the Grimm fell limp. Rising up, Blake watched as two more Grimm fell to Ruby's sniper attack. But that was all Blake could see. There had been 5 Grimm in total, but only 4 had been downed.

As if to answer her question, a tight arm wrapped around her, and pressed a blade to her throat. 'Damn in!' Blake swore internally, realizing her mistake. She had grown lax thanks to her easy victory, and it was about to kill her. Was this how her first real battle was to end? The Grimm started backing out of the clearing, using Blake as a shield facing towards the mountain Ruby fired from. Blake wasn't about to get any fire support.

It was at that moment that a streak of red shot by Blake and her captor. Blake wasn't fully sure what happened, but suddenly, the grip on her slackened, then fell away all together. There were two distinct thuds, and Blake turned about to see the head of her captor rolling away from its dissolving corpse. Petals scattered outward and the smell of smoke took to the air once more, as the rumors she had heard about these aliens proved true. And just beyond them, stood Ruby, with a red scythe resting on her shoulder, a few scattered rose petals drifting about her, and a faint red glow emanating around her. A faint red glow that could only mean one thing. Something that took Blake's breath away.

"You're a Huntress?"

* * *

 **Hello everyone, and welcome to Millennial Rose. This is a Distant Future! AU inspired by Flight of a Rose by GhostPhoenix113. Couple things to note here really quick to get them out of the way. This AU is (obviously) based in the distant future, and Remnant's inhabitants have started colonizing planets. The Grimm have been wiped off Remnant, but have re-manifested themselves as aliens, go figure.**

 **Also, Ruby, Blake and Weiss will be 18, Yang is 21.**

 **But hey, let me know what you think. And please forgive any errors. Still point them out so I can fix them, but please, forgive and forget. Its 1 am, I have a long drive tomorrow, I spent 6 hours last night just writing this down in a fit of inspiration, and I've had considerably more to drink than I should for editing. I'll try going over it again soon to work out any kinks I can find, but for now, its stays as it is** **. If you haven't already, check out my other story, Fang's Embrace. See you guys next time!**

 **Why did the bear dissolve in water? It was polar.**


	2. The Runaway

"What's a huntress?"

Weiss Schnee started at the tiny voice suddenly drifting up from her knee. She looked down to see a small child tugging on the fabric of her flowing white sun dress, innocent eyes staring back up at her. Weiss smiled gently before kneeling down next to the child, reaching eye level with her.

"Well, that's a long story young one. But first, where did you come from? Did you follow me all the way from the care center?" The young girl nodded at Weiss's question, looking slightly away in fear of being punished. Weiss just shook her head and chuckled, amazed at the innocence of childhood. "Well then, let's head back there, and I'll tell you all I can about hunters and huntresses, alright?"

The child nodded excitedly, and grasped Weiss's hand as the platinum haired girl stood up again. Slowly, they began to walk back the way they had come, Weiss's heels clicking as she paced herself to the short strides of her small charge. "So tell me, what's your name?"

"Sapphire," the girl responded, proud of her name. She gave Weiss a toothy grin, which Weiss returned lightly.

"That's a lovely name. I see your parents followed the old way of naming, just like mine."

Sapphire nodded excitedly, and gripped Weiss's hand tighter in recognition of their similarity. But when she turned her eyes on Weiss again, that question returned. "What's a huntress?"

"And where, Sapphire, did you hear a word like that?" Weiss asked, mildly surprised the girl knew it at all.

"Mrs. Lavender said that you were like a huntress after you left, and we should be like you," Sapphire responded honestly.

"Is that so?" Weiss asked, her heart warming a bit at the comment. She had just stopped at the child care center a short while ago to see how the children of the city were faring. It was just part of her daily routine anymore, but never before had a child followed her out afterwards.

"Miss Weiss, are you a huntress?" Sapphire asked again, big blue eyes gazing up at her as they walked.

Weiss had to fight from laughing out loud at the comment. But while she succeeded at that, she failed to suppress the chuckle that escaped her lips. "No, little one, I'm not a huntress. There have been times I wished I was, but I'm not. Huntresses and huntsmen were warriors long ago, people with special talents who protected others."

"So they were a guard?" Sapphire inquired, confusion evident in the tilt of her head.

"Sort of, but not really. They had a guard back then, called the police, and they had soldiers, but hunters were something different all together. Do you know what Grimm are?" This earned a small nod from the child. "Well, back on Remnant, the birthplace of man and Faunus, there also used to be Grimm. But they weren't Grimm like we know them today. They were animals, like bears, and wolves. They couldn't walk upright, and they couldn't speak at all. They were vicious, angry things that only attacked people because they could."

Weiss could see she was scaring the child, so she ended the description of the Grimm there. She could have gone on and explained the even more terrifying Grimm that existed, be it Drakes or Death Stalkers, Nevermores or Night Watchers. She could have told Sapphire about how the Grimm had trapped man in four large cities, tiny by today's standards. But that wasn't what Sapphire was asking about.

"But then, one day, the hunters came along, powerful and wise. They stood up against the Grimm, and you know what? They were winning. They had the Grimm right where they wanted them."

"Did something happen?" Sapphire asked, curiosity etched into her voice.

"Unfortunately, yes. One day, bad people came about, and started attacking people, and stealing Dust. Dust was what made the world of Remnant go round. It powered everything before we discovered how to harness the power of the suns. Now, anywhere the light touches, we have power. But back then, they needed Dust to stay alive. Otherwise, all the technology they had would stop working."

"But why would people steal that? Why didn't they share?"

"No one really knows," Weiss sighed. "There are stories that people could use the Dust to do magical things, bend space around them, but that's just the stories. All we really do know is that the bad people really wanted it, and were led by an evil woman, named Cinder."

"Cinder of the Flames?" Sapphire asked, suddenly well informed.

"Well, yes," Weiss replied in shock. "How do you know that name?"

"She was in a book I read," Sapphire replied, looking thoughtful. "Cinder was beautiful, but she was really mean to everyone, so no one liked her. And that made her really sad and even meaner, making people like her even less."

"I don't know what book you've been reading, but that's right. Cinder hurt a lot of people to get what she wanted. She attacked the City of Vale, and burned most of it to the ground. But that was when the hunters stepped in."

"Did the hunters make her nicer?"

"No, unfortunately, they couldn't do that. But they did something just as important. They protected the people. Despite all of Cinder's evil henchmen attacking, and despite burning the city like she did, she was stopped, and most of the people were saved. There are a lot of stories on how that happened, but there is one thing that most people agree on."

"Team RWBY!"

"That's right," Weiss beamed, not at all surprised the girl had heard of the famous team before. Most children's books were based around the team of old, even if they weren't always identified as huntresses. "Four girls, known a Team RWBY, lead the charge against Cinder. They made sure to save anyone that needed help, and they stopped Cinder from hurting anymore people. They became heroes, and they made sure that the hunters stood for the people. And in return, the people loved team RWBY. It was because of them and the hunters that the Vytal Federation was born. What remained of the City of Vale teamed up with the City of Vacuo."

"What were their names?"

"Whose names, sweetie?" Weiss asked in confusion.

"Team RWBY's. You said there were four of them."

Weiss sighed, realizing she should have expected this question was coming. "No one knows. Most of the records from that time have been lost. The fact that we know about Team RWBY at all just shows how famous they were together. But separate, we have no idea."

"What happened to them?"

"No one is really sure. After their time as heroes, they faded into obscurity. There used to be statues of them, but even those have faded with time. Now, we don't even know what they looked like, let alone how they did what they did. But we do know one thing. They instilled the code of the hunters, the code that all good boys and girls should follow. Do you know what it is?"

Sapphire nodded before dutifully reciting, "No one is truly a stranger. Care those in need, and protect those who need protection. And never look down on or judge others, no matter who or what they are."

"Very good," Weiss praised, surprised the girl had actually memorized the code at such a young age. Most people didn't even teach it anymore, despite the goodwill that naturally comes along with it. But, that wasn't any of Weiss's business. "Now, can you tell me what that means?"

The excitement in Sapphire's eyes died a little bit, and she nervously looked at her feet. "It means be nice to people you don't know. Like my mommy says, 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet.'"

"That's a very good way to put it," Weiss said gently, smiling down at Sapphire. "That's exactly what it means."

Sapphire seemed to accept the praise, smiling lightly as she skipped along beside Weiss, hand still tightly clasped in Weiss's. After a short while, she spoke up again. "Miss Weiss?"

"What is it Sapphire?"

"Do you follow the hunter code?"

Weiss was slightly taken aback by the question, but quickly recovered. "Yes, I do. Why do you ask?"

"Then why do you carry around a sword?"

And sure enough, Weiss had Myrtenaster at her waist, held in place by a special magnetic clip, the tip of the blade enveloped in the folds of her dress. Instinctively, her free hand dropped to the rapier, lightly gripping the handle.

"That's because…" Weiss started, but then stopped, not sure how much she should tell this child. "That's because it's a family heirloom. All the way back from before the times of Team RWBY. It's mine by right, given to me by my sister, but people want to take it away from me."

"But why?" Sapphire asked, big eyes staring up at Weiss with some mild confusion.

"Because I disagree with them. Because I won't bend to their way of thinking. You see, they don't follow the hunter code. They will hurt anyone that gets in their way. So, I took Myrtenaster and left. One day, I'll go back, but right now, I'm happy here." Weiss smiled down at the young girl to reassure her, hoping to show that she really was happy. Which, in all reality, she was. The capital of the Vytal Federation on Ziben was a beautiful place, and filled with wonderful people who truly cared about one another. She saw Faunus and humans, coexisting like they did in few other places of the galaxy. It truly was a beautiful thing.

Slowly, they came up on the building that housed the daycare. The building that Weiss made a point to visit, each and every day. Just seeing the faces of all these happy, innocent children reminded her of why she was here. Why she was going what she was doing. The innocence she was protecting. The innocence she lost far too early.

* * *

Going into hiding wasn't easy, especially with her family involved. The Schnee family conglomerate held the largest stake of power in the Atlas Corporation. The country that had become a business. Where the people they protected became nothing more than workers, only useful for as long as they could raise kids, fight or construct mechs to preform manual labor. As soon as they couldn't do that, they were 'purged.'

Such a life should have been easy for Weiss. Her family had all the power. She should be in a position where she couldn't be touched. But her status hadn't changed the fact that she had been a child. A child who had been curious, and had wandered outside the safe walls of the Schnee compound and witnessed the horrors of the real world first hand. She watched as a man was dragged out of his home, his hand wrapped in a cast and a small girl standing behind him, screaming. She wanted her daddy. She wanted to know what was happening. She wanted to know why.

What Weiss wanted to know was why the 'Atlas Officials' had turned around and shot the girl without a second thought. She wanted to know why the man stopped fighting as he watched his daughter's body fell to the ground. She wanted to know why the officials then turned about and shot the man. She wanted to know why they had left the man writhing on the ground as they walked down the street. She wanted to know why, when Weiss had rushed to his side, hoping to do anything she could to help the dying man, and he had simply smiled at her. Why he had whispered, "Thank you, young miss," then stopped moving.

And she wanted to know why no one had ever told her before what the gunshots she had heard all her life had meant. People that her family was in charge of, people that depended on the Atlas Corporation to protect them, they were nothing more than slaves. Slaves that got dragged out in the street and shot because they were deemed 'parasites' while they recovered from the injuries received while preforming their immensely dangerous job. And any child that had lost both parents to this nightmare was considered 'useless pests,' and put out of their misery.

From that day forward, Weiss looked at the world with new light. She watched closely as her family ignored all the horrors occurring just outside the walls. She listened through closed doors as her own father approved of ever more dangerous operations, hoping to increase his already immense wealth. She repeatedly felt the sting of his wrath when she openly questioned his morals. And she was scarred by that same wrath when he discovered he could not break her.

The long, vertical cut over her left eye throbbed as she found herself thinking back to the day she had finally stood up to her father. The day she had finally left his shadow. Not even the day before, her older sister, Winter, had come up to her, and whispered something very important.

"I'm leaving this hell. I suggest you do too."

And she was gone. Vanished without a trace. Or so the family thought. But Weiss could see the path. Winter hadn't abandoned her. She had paved the way. The way small things were disturbed. A picture frame, placed face down. A painting, pushed to a slant. A key, suddenly appearing on Weiss's dresser. And the family sword, Myrtenaster, the single piece presented to the next head of household, disappearing from its place on the wall.

The family was so consumed with the missing sword, they hadn't noticed the small details. They didn't know about the crooked painting of the rustic cabin the family no longer used, deep in the woods. They missed the picture of Weiss and Winter, standing before their beloved speed cycles after a race. Speed cycles that Winter had submitted to the shop for 'adjustments.' And they didn't notice Weiss, as she walked up to her father, and slapped him.

Weiss didn't quite remember how it went, as emotions had commanded the moment. All she could remember was yelling at her father, telling him that this was his fault. He hadn't said a word, staring at her with cold eyes as he calmly backhanded her, sending her spinning into a wall. A wall that held a separate decretive sword. A sword that slipped from its holdings, and fell across Weiss's eye.

Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said after that. The family watched, uncaring as Weiss got up, wiped blood down her sleeve, walked to her room, and left through the window nearly as soon as she slammed the door. Never once did she look back. And she doubted anyone thought to search for her at that point.

When she reached the cabin, Winter was long gone. All that remained was Weiss's speed cycle, specially modified for deep space travel, a note, and a long, wooden case. The note simply read "This will do better in your hands than mine. We will meet again Weiss. Remember, I love you. Winter." Without even opening the case, Weiss knew what it contained. And she knew what it meant. If Winter was giving Weiss Myrtenaster, it only meant Winter trusted Weiss. Trusted her to do the right thing. And when the time came, to use Myrtenaster to take her place at the head of the family, and end their family's reign of terror.

* * *

Weiss exited the day care, content for the time being having returned Sapphire to the proper place. What had happened with her family, and all the darkness she had experienced since that day would just have to wait. Right now, she was content helping the people of Ziben, even if all she could do was small, menial tasks.

Weiss's scroll buzzed, causing Weiss to look to her wrist. A small band lit up, projecting all the caller information available on Weiss's forearm. Upon seeing who it was, Weiss sighed. It was never a good sign when he called.

"What do you want, Mercury?" Weiss asked as soon as she answered, already fed up with the man.

"Damn, is that any way to greet me? After all I've done for you?"

"You haven't done shit. Your father took me in after he heard what happened. You, on the other hand, keep trying to capitalize on his kindness."

"Well, when you put it that way," Mercury replied, audibly shrugging. "Anyways, my family is having a get together tonight, and seeing as you're a guest of the household, it's only fair that you're the first to know. Nothing too fancy, just some dancing and drinking. You know how these things go."

Weiss sighed before replying. This was the third 'get together' this week. This boy seemed unable to go a day without hosting or attending a party. "I doubt it, but we'll see. Thanks for letting me know. If there is nothing else, I'm going to get back to my rounds now."

"Why even bother? You do know we have a planetary guard, right?"

"You know damn well why. Seeing as there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."

The scroll made an electronic clicking noise as Weiss ended the call. With an annoyed shake of her head, Weiss continued down her path, occasionally looking at the sky as she walked. It had been 5 years since she had run. 5 years she had been hiding out from the thugs her family had sent after her. 5 years of not knowing how long she could stay in one place.

Twice, she had almost been caught. One had been nearly 6 months into her 'escape.' Thugs had tracked her to the small settlement she had been hiding out on. No one in the settlement had even known she was there, let alone who she was. So when large men showed up one day, and started interrogating everyone they saw about a girl with white hair, questions had been raised. That was, until one of the men had started dragging her out of a barn by her hair. If it hadn't been for some boy Weiss didn't even know stepping in, she would have been carted back to her family.

As it was, that was the first day Weiss had drawn blood. In a panic, while the men were distracted by the tall Faunus boy, she had drawn Myrtenaster and swung about wildly, having no clue how to properly wield her rapier. But somehow, she had managed to catch one of the men in the throat, the narrow edge of her blade slicing across the jugular. The man had died at her feet. After that, the other two thugs had run off, muttering something about not being paid enough for this job.

After quickly thanking her savior, Weiss had escaped the planet on her speeder. She had spent two more years on the run, but she refused to make the same mistake twice. For those two years, she trained with the rapier, using every resource she could to improve her skills. The planetary net, a slew of training videos, and a lot of self-help had carried her a long way.

So when she had seen two mercenary ships enter the atmosphere of her supposedly uninhabited planet, she was ready. The small squad of four had exited their ships in a lax haze. Weiss wasn't even sure if she should kill these men. Until one of them had mentioned 'finding that Schnee bitch' and getting off the 'hellhole' on which they found themselves. After that, Weiss had no qualms planting Myrtenaster firmly in each of their spines. They never saw her coming, and paid for it dearly.

After that mishap, Weiss made sure to avoid abandoned planets. Her speed cycle's signature exhaust became far too easy to track on planets with no traffic. So she had jumped from colony to colony, never staying in one place for more than a month, according to the galactic calendar.

That was, until a man had recognized her. He had come up to her, cautiously, as if he was afraid she would bite. Then he had said her name. Weiss had nearly pulled Myrtenaster on him right then. Only two groups of people knew her name, and both of them were more than happy to have her dead.

But he surprised her. Quickly, he introduced himself as Mr. Black, the governor of a planet called Ziben, and that he was there for a planetary meet. He had recognized her from a wanted poster her parents had apparently felt the need to put out for her. But then he went one step further, and offered her a home. It was a guest house of his family's but he had insisted she take it, saying "No child should ever have to face this world alone. If your parents won't take up the slack, I will."

And he had. Anything Weiss could have needed, he provided. Food, shelter, clothing, schooling, trainers, all of it. Thanks to Mr. Black, and her natural ability to quickly pick up new skills, she had come to master the rapier even further, become proficient in hand to hand combat, and mastered the basics of the majority of the dozens of dialects that had popped up since the expansion into space. She still had yet to learn what the revolving chamber in the hilt of her blade was used for, but she felt she was getting closer by the day.

But there was in thing Mr. Black couldn't do. One thing he couldn't give her. Winter. No matter where he looked, no matter how long he searched, Winter was nowhere to be found. All he had learned was he wasn't the only one searching for her. Apparently, Winter had just faded from existence, going to a place where neither Weiss nor her parents could reach her.

And so that had become Weiss's life. Between training and searching for Winter, Weiss had little to no time for herself. And whatever time she did have, she patrolled around town, gazing at the sky, fearing the day she would see the telltale streaks of forced re-entry.

That was no way for an 18 year old girl to live. She as supposed to be enjoying those parties, laughing with friends, and making mistakes. But thanks to her family, she was an outcast, without any real friends, and terrified of cloudy days that blocked her view of the sky.

With that thought in mind, Weiss looked up once more, and her heart sank. Of course, just as she had been thinking about it, she would see the one thing she feared. Three massive fireballs, cutting across the sky. She could tell just by their size and their angle that they weren't heading for the port of entry. They were coming straight for her.

* * *

Yang swore as she sprinted through the streets. People streamed past her as they ran away from the chaos that was slowly gripping the town. In the distance, smoke billowed over buildings, and the sounds of energy weapons could be heard over the screams of the terrified populous.

She had hardly walked across the town's boarder when the three massive fireballs had crashed into the city center. Several buildings had provided significant cushion to prevent the ships from turning the enter city into a smoking crater, but that did little to comfort Yang. There had been people in those buildings, and whoever these men were, they cared little for the lives they had just ended.

Yang had watched the entry, and had noted that the unexpected guests had flown in on two large transports, escorted by what looked like a Knight-130 fighter. And that could only mean two things.

One was pirates. Of course, they could have to be fools to attack any planet in the Vytal Federation capital system. Even if they had the cloaking technology to slip past the safety net of turrets around the planet, and the luck that the inner atmosphere defenses were down for maintenance, they would still have to deal with the standing guard. So that ruled out all but the most moronic pirates. The second option, however, was not something Yang enjoyed thinking about.

The second option was that these were trained mercenaries, either from the Atlas Corporation or the Mistral Planetary Alliance. Mercenaries that she had been hoping she would beat to the punch. Because if they were here, then that meant it was more than likely a certain runaway was as well. And if that was the case, Yang needed to find her before the mercenaries.

Finally, Yang broke through the throng of people, only to be greeted by three thugs brandishing intimidating plasma rifles. 'Welp, that answers the 'who' question,' Yang though as she continued to run. Only the Atlas Corporation had the funds to give lowly mercenaries such high tech weaponry. But that gave Yang the advantage. Because the mercenaries were always well armed, they never gave close combat much thought, figuring their gear would solve the problem before it reached them.

Oh how wrong they were. Without even yelling at Yang to stop, the thugs brought up their arms and opened fire. Rolling at the last possible moment, Yang avoided the initial volley, gaining another few meters upon her targets before they could compensate for her movement. And that few meters was everything. Yang's roll had placed her behind one of the many abandoned food carts. One that she promptly flipped, sending various fruits flying through the air.

Each of the thugs had been following Yang's every moment. And while they had yet to hit her, she wasn't about to escape their watchful eyes. That was, until various fruits had begun to batter them, courtesy of the blonde. Briefly distracted by an apple striking him square between the eyes, the mercenary closest to Yang closed his eyes, staggering back a step. He never got the chance to reopen them, as Yang was upon him in that instant. A quick uppercut sent the goon spinning away, unconscious.

Before the man even hit the ground, Yang made her move on the next mercenary. She delivered three quick blows to the man's chest as her rounded on her, knocking the air from his lungs. While he gasped for breath, Yang grabbed the rifle at the base and twisted, yanking it from his grasp. Now armed with state-of-the-art tech, Yang did the one thing none of them expected. She threw the rifle at the final mercenary, catching him in the forehead with the butt of the gun with such force that his feet left the ground, and he was flung back, landing unconscious in a vender stall that seemed to be selling various meats.

Turning back to the final mercenary, Yang grabbed the man by the throat, cutting off the breath he was still struggling to catch.

"You've got three seconds. Who sent you?" Yang demanded.

Fear caused the man's eyes to nearly bulge out of their sockets. He fought for breath, kicking out his legs and the blonde lifted him off the ground. Through a series of gasps, he eventually managed to get out, "The… Schnee… Family… They…"

"That's enough, I get the picture," Yang interrupted. "So how did you find her? And why attack a Federation planet to get her?"

"Someone… Contacted us… Said they knew… where she was… And knew when… The defenses would be… Down…"

Yang was about to ask her captive who their contact was, but that was when the man made a move for his belt. It could have been anything. A blade, a gun, or even just a radio, but Yang wasn't about to take any chances. Before the man could reach whatever his goal was, Yang had thrown him against the wall of a nearby building, forcibly denting in the metal framework. The man fell to the ground without a word, eyes dead to the world.

"Never can be easy can it?" Yang sighed before taking off down the street again.

* * *

Weiss sprinted into a small square. It was one where she had been only moments ago. It was the one that the care center had been in.

And it was where the ships had come down.

Weiss rounded the corner, and felt her heart drop from her chest. There was nothing left. Scrapes of metal were strewn everywhere, glass littered the street, and a long, deep gash cut through where the building had stood, turning up cobblestone in its wake. A few blocks up, Weiss could see the smoking remains of the remains of the transport ship that had plowed through the building.

As her heart fell from her chest, Weiss felt a new emotion fill the space it left. Rage. But not at the mercenaries, not at the pilots of the crafts, not even her own family. No, this fiery rage threatened to engulf her, because this was _her_ fault. She had brought these men here. It was because she had stayed for so long. Sooner or later, no matter how hard Mr. Black tried to hide it, she was going to get found out. And it had come to pass in the worst way possible.

Then, off to the side she heard a gentle sob. When she spun about, what she saw caused relief to flow through her veins, extinguishing the build anger. In a small alley across the square, Weiss saw a group of children huddled together, a few crying, and a young white haired woman attempting to calm them. Weiss ran to their side, causing the woman to look up.

"Weiss? What are you doing here?"

"I saw the ships come down and feared the worst. How did everyone get out?"

"After you dropped Sapphire off, she went running after you again for whatever reason. But when I went after her, if found her stopped in the center of the square, pointing at the sky. And it's good she did, otherwise I would have never gotten the other children out in time."

Sapphire came running up and latched onto Weiss's leg, tears dampening the fabric of the dress around Weiss's knee. "Weiss," Sapphire cried, "what's happening? What is that?"

"Shhh..." Weiss comforted Sapphire as she crouched down next to the small child. With a gentle hand, Weiss brushed away the tears the formed in the corner of Sapphire's eyes. "We're going to get out of here. Don't worry about what's happening. I'm going to make sure your safe."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Schnee," a voice interrupted behind Weiss. A disturbingly familiar voice.

"Mercury…" Weiss growled, slowly rising to face the newcomer. Until the barrel of a gun was pressed against the back of her skull.

"Oh, I wouldn't try to get up…" Mercury said snidely. "You see, my friends here have been looking for you a long time, and seeing as you basically turned down the more than generous invitation to my welcoming party for them, I had to bring them in to greet you a little bit early."

"Mercury, what have you done? Don't you see the destruction around you? Don't you see all the people you've hurt?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Mercury said darkly, clearly enjoying this. "You see, I'll get here, only to see these fine gentlemen kill you and take your sword as proof. I'll be the one that drives them off, stopping them from hurting any more people. Of course, you had to go and talk with these children, so it seems I will have to delay my rescue efforts a bit longer than I had hoped. Shame really, they really are quite cute."

Weiss snapped at that. Before another word could be said, Weiss spun about, drawing Myrtenaster from its magnetic sheath and disarming the gunman. Literally. The mercenary's eyes went wide as Myrtenaster cut through is forearm like butter, far sharper than any sword had the right to be. But before he could scream, Weiss followed through, her fist connecting with his cheek, quickly relieving him of his consciousness.

"You will NOT," Weiss growled at Mercury, pointing Myrtenaster's bloody tip at him, "touch ANY of them."

"Oh really?" Mercury questioned, playing disinterestedly with a silver scarf draped over his shoulders. His silver hair shimmered lightly as a breeze generated by the flames flowed through it. "And I suppose you're going to stop me?" Before Weiss could respond, Mercury raised his hands while the mercenary next to him took aim. "You seem to misunderstand Weiss. They don't need to take you alive. You'll be long dead before they even touch them."

Weiss watched as the gun became level with her eyes, and time slowed down as the trigger finger depressed. This was it. This is where she failed, before she ever had the chance to face her family again. Before she was able to stop their tyranny. This is where her adventure ended, before it ever really began.

Suddenly, the gunman grunted in pain, and a plasma round sailed over Weiss's head, scorching the building behind her. A child screamed, and Weiss could smell the smoke rising from her singed pony tail. But that wasn't what had Weiss frozen in shock.

Sapphire had run up to the man while none of them were looking, and was currently biting the man through his pant leg. Blood had started to leak into the fabric as Sapphire's canines dug through the flesh. Canines that seemed much larger than they had been earlier.

Weiss barely had any time to process this as she watch the gunman's attention shift from her to Sapphire. Time seemed to slow down as the barrel of the gun turned on the small child. Without even thinking, Weiss dashed forward, lunging out with Myrtenaster.

And suddenly, she was there, Myrtenaster buried through her target's chest far quicker than she had ever expected, and the light leaving his eyes. Weiss stood in confused shock as she tried to figure out how she gotten here so quickly. Shock that caused her to fail noticing the approaching Mercury Black, let alone spot the pure rage that was etched across his face.

With a savage kick, Weiss was rocketed away, shattering the spell. With a roll, Weiss came to one knee, facing Mercury with contempt in her eyes. Contempt that was easily matched in Mercury's silver eyes. "I don't know how you did that," Mercury began, annoyance evident in his tone, "and quite honestly, I don't care." Slowly, he reached down a retrieved the rifle from the fallen gunman. "All I care about is that you die here, and finally give my father something else to talk about other than how he wished that you were his own daughter. Really, it gets quite annoying."

"That's why you're doing this?" Weiss spat. "Because daddy didn't love you enough?!"

"Of course not," Mercury chuckled. "Obviously I'm doing this for the money. You see, they promised me a fair cut, and with each idiot you take down, my share only gets larger. It's a shame though, because now," Mercury paused to raise the rifle into firing position. "The fun comes to an end."

"NO!" came a tiny voice. Sapphire, standing unnoticed by the silver haired man, began pounding on Mercury's leg, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Don't hurt Weiss! She's done nothing to you!"

"Annoying little beast," Mercury grunted, before mercilessly kicking the small child. Sapphire flipped back on the concrete, bouncing on contact. "Learn you're place, filthy Faunus."

Weiss reacted immediately. But instead of charging Mercury, she dove for Sapphire, Myrtenaster falling to the ground. Just before the child hit the ground a second time, Weiss caught her in her arms, absorbing the blow with her own body.

"Sapphire!" Weiss shouted, cradling the now bleeding girl. Blood leaked over Sapphire's right eye, but the child looked up at Weiss and gave a toothy smile. A smile that shone with the blood of the gunman still lingering on the girl's elongated canines. A smile that was accompanied by the small wag of a tail, brushing up against Weiss's leg through the girl's skirt.

Weiss returned the smile, glad that the child still had the energy to smile at all. This was the second time in memory that a Faunus had saved Weiss. But this was the first time such a small child had put themselves on the line for Weiss. And that was something Weiss wasn't about to forget. Gently, Weiss maneuvered the child behind her, turning to face Mercury with all the defiance she could muster.

"How noble of you," Mercury sneered. "But now, you're unarmed. Shame, really. I was hoping for more of a fight out of you. Goodbye Weiss, I won't miss you." And Mercury fired.

* * *

Yang was surprised. She had fought through another half dozen mercenaries on her way to this small square, and she had only broken three windows doing it. Considering how this city seemed to be made of glass, that was a feat. Using a couple nearby building as kicking points, Yang made her way to the rooftops, assuming that the high ground would do her some good now.

So imagine her surprise when she found two more mercenaries staring down into the square, their back turned towards her. With a sigh, Yang strode up behind the two, her long hair flowing lightly in the breeze. Before either of them turned about, Yang grabbed the unaware mercenaries each by the ear, and slammed their skulls into each other. Yang was pretty sure she heard a crack as the two connected, but she was beyond caring at this point. She had passed more bodies of gunned down innocents on the way here than she ever seen before off an actual battlefield.

Just across the square, Yang could see the torn up ground where one of the transport ships had landed, pulverizing everything in its wake. But that wasn't what interested her. Below her, she could see a girl in a flowing white dress and a sideways ponytail pointing a bloody blade at two men. Behind her, a few children cowered, but were otherwise unharmed. At her feet was a man who, unsurprisingly, was missing a hand.

Yang watched as a small child broke away from the group, and proceeded to bite one of the men in his leg, causing him to misfire and blow a chunk out of the building behind the girl in white. But that wasn't what interested Yang. What caught her attention was the girl in white's reaction. In a flash, a glyph appeared beneath the girl, and she charged forward, plunging her blade into the man's chest.

'A semblance?' Yang thought, surprised by this development. That was unusual. Generally, only those with an awakened aura could activate a semblance. But the only people who still knew how to awaken an aura was…

Yang was dragged out of her thoughts as the shouts of a child caught her attention. Yang focused in again just in time to see the silver haired man actually _kick_ the small child. Yang's blood began to boil as she watched the girl in white dive to catch the young girl. Without a second thought, Yang grabbed one of the mercenaries, and jumped down for her vantage point.

* * *

Weiss blinked in surprise at the arrival of the blonde. One moment, Mercury was shooting at her, and the next a large woman stood before her. She wore a light brown jacket that hung down her back, the tail end falling to tatters. It was so torn up that one half of the jacket may as well have been gone below the waist, while the other gradually shifted to end just above her knee. Knees that wrapped in dark gray cargo pants. Cargo pants that were either far too small, or this woman had such large legs leading up to her shapely body that the pants nearly fit like a pair of old jeans. Long boots covered the cuffs of the pants, and ended just below the knee. Boots that matched the western style cowboy hat that seemed to belong to another generation.

But it wasn't the hat, the hair, or the jacket that held Weiss's attention. No, that was this woman's arms. Arms the bulged to the point that they had long ago torn the sleeves off the already damaged jacket. Arms that had a singular orange scarf tied around the right bicep. Arms that hardly flexed as she effortlessly held up a mercenary, one that was currently smoking as the plasma burned through the flesh in his chest.

"And who the hell are you?!" Mercury shouted in frustration, sick of interruptions.

"I'm someone who just watched you kick a child," the blonde looked up at Mercury, allowing him to watch as her eyes shifted from a gentle violet to an angry crimson. "So think of me as a nightmare."

Suddenly, her hair was flicking off sparks as flames traveled down the blonde locks. A soft golden glow slowly encased her as the flames started to grow larger, gradually outpacing the flames surrounding them. Yet the blonde simply grinned, as if this was an everyday occurrence. With a quick motion, she tossed her hat backwards at Weiss. "Hold on to that, Snow Angel. I'll want it back."

And then, she was gone. Well, not gone, just behind Mercury. Moving with speeds that Weiss barely followed, the blonde had run forward and flipped over him, ripping the gun from his grasp as she did. When she landed, she easily snapped the weapon in two over her knee. Sparks flew from each half a she threw them away. Before Mercury could even turn to face her, before he could start a plea for forgiveness, she kicked is legs out from under him. She looked him in his eyes as he flipped about, furious crimson meeting shocked gray. That was until she struck him in the cheek. Instantly, his eyes were blank, protecting him from the pain that was to come. With a resounding crunch, Mercury smashed into the ground, creating a small crater that shattered the remaining concrete.

Calmly, the blonde stood, rolling her shoulder as she did. "Well, that was a thing," she said nonchalantly, her eyes returning to their usual shade of violet and the flames in her hair dying out.

But when she made a step towards Weiss, Weiss took a step back, putting an arm out to keep Sapphire behind her. "Who are you?" Weiss demanded. Even if this stranger had just saved them, she was still a stranger, and right now, that wasn't the thing to be.

The blonde looked confused for a moment, before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh. My bad, I thought you would have known me already."

"And why would I know you? I've never seen you before," Weiss countered, suspicion still etched into her voice.

"Just, some things you did… never mind, just a misunderstanding on my part," Yang waved off. "Don't worry, I'll explain later. But right now, we need to go. Get up, and grab my hat and your sword."

"Go? Go where? I don't even know you!" Weiss practically shouted, growing more annoyed by the second.

"Oh, I'm Yang!" The blonde said with a smile. "Nice to meet ya! And we really need to go, before the rest of his friends wake up."

* * *

 **Alright, here we go. Characters introduced, plot moving forward, and backstory nightmares commencing. This is where it gets exciting.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, but don't be afraid to let me know what you think. A little bit of criticism won't hurt my feelings. And remember, the pairs are not yet decided yet. And I just put up a fancy new poll to let you vote! Check it out and let me know!**

 **Chemists do it periodically on a table. (That one was bad but I don't care. This may be the last joke (like this) for Millennial Rose, as I don't have enough for both it and Fang's Embrace. I'll try to figure something out.)**

 **UPDATE: The poll has been closed, as a month has passed. I will use these results in my writing planning in the future.**


	3. The Orphan

'Well, that definitely could have gone better,' Ruby thought ruefully as she allowed her aura to disperse. 'Well, considering how many were here, they at least came in a transport ship, with means I should be able to repair Scattered Petals if I scrap their ship. That will probably take a while though. I guess I should find a place to stay for the time being. Maybe Blake knows a place.' Content with that thought, Ruby turned to ask Blake her thoughts, which is when she noticed the shock and awe that were written all over Blake's face.

"You are, aren't you?" Blake whispered, not taking her eyes off Ruby.

Realizing she had missed something while lost in thought, Ruby quickly backtracked. "I'm sorry, come again?"

"You're a huntress," Blake said again, this time more stating a fact than asking a question.

'Crap,' Ruby thought as she felt her heart sink. 'Ozpin is going to kill me. On a planet for just over 2 hours, and already someone has called me out as a huntress. How the hell are we supposed to be a secret order when people can identify us so easily?'

"A what?" Ruby asked, trying to play dumb. She sheathed Crescent Rose and scratched the back of her head, trying to look innocent. "What's a huntress?"

"You can drop the act," Blake said with a shake of her head. "The aura is a dead giveaway. That, and the fact that you just raced down the face of a mountain and through a forest in a matter of seconds in order to save me from the Grimm with some kind of scythe hybrid. That kind skill isn't something you'll find in the military."

"And what if it was?" Ruby asked, using hand motions to direct attention away from her clearly nervous features. "My abilities come from my own hard work. That doesn't make me this huntress thing you speak of."

"No, but the aura does," Blake continued, refusing to back down. She was right, she knew she was. "Aura activation and control is a long lost art. Something that, anymore, has to be unlocked for you. And the only ones who know how to do that in today's world are the Hunters."

Ruby was about to reply when a chorus of voices started to echo through the wood. Deciding the conceding a point now was better than exposing so much more to a crowd of people, Ruby acted fast. "Fine, you caught me. I'm a huntress. We can discuss what this means later, but until then, not a word about this to anyone. I don't care who it is. If I don't think they're trustworthy, I will cut them down."

"So what does that make me?" Blake asked with a smirk, realizing she had the upper-hand for the moment.

"Someone that's damn lucky they're cute," Ruby replied absentmindedly. She was already moving on to the next steps of concealing Crescent Rose beneath her cloak, so she didn't notice how the comment had frozen Blake in her tracks.

'Cute?' Blake thought. 'Is she being serious or…' Blake never got to finish that thought, as the shouting was now close enough that she could clearly distinguish who it was and what they were saying. 'Damn, it sounds like Velvet brought the whole town with her.'

And as it turned out, she had. Following the sounds of the cries, Blake and Ruby wandered through the woods for a short while before running into the rescue party. Within moments, Ruby was surrounded by concerned town's folk of all kinds. Some carried first aid kits, attempting to examine Ruby who was trying to fend them off while adamantly assuring them that she was fine. Some others leveled blasters on her, looking for a single twitch out of place. The rest were content to watch, only having come along as an excuse to break the monotony of everyday life.

Blake, on the other hand, had been pounced on by a small hoard of children, followed by one very relieved rabbit Faunus. Question came at her from all directions. Where had she been? What happened? Who was the woman in red? Was she a friend? All of them coming too fast for Blake have a chance to answer any of them. And all the while, Velvet stood off to the side, smiling lightly as her friend dealt with the young army as she always did.

But that was when the shouting had started. Apparently, Ruby's 'check-up' had ended, and it was now the gun toting colonists' turn to ask the questions. And apparently, Ruby's answers were not to be desired.

"I'll ask again, what the hell are you doing here?" A man shouted, gesturing menacingly with his rifle.

But Ruby just stared calmly down the barrel, not even blinking at the weapon being shoved in her face. "I just told you, I blew out my main engine, and was forced to crash land on the first planet that I could reach using my directional boosters."

"Then why were you followed by another ship no more than an hour later? I watched that ship come in, and that was no rescue craft. That was a Grimm tracking ship!"

Ruby's eyes narrowed slightly at that. "And how can you recognize that, when you can't even recognize a human standing before you, speaking in the standard Federation dialect?"

"I spent my fair share of time in the Federation military, patrolling the borders. I came out here to avoid seeing those things ever again, so why did you bring them with you?"

Ruby sighed, growing tired of this argument. "It's not like I exactly had a choice. I can't really control who is chasing me when I lose my engine."

Ruby's comment sent whispers rippling through the crowd, people panicking at the thought of this stranger leading Grimm to their unprotected colony.

"I've heard enough," The gun toting man concluded. "You need turn around, and go right back to whatever ship brought you here, and get the hell off my planet! You're a threat to us all just by being here! So go and take the Grimm with ya!"

A cry of agreement came up from the other individuals carrying guns, but discomfort was evident on the faces of the rest. Here was this girl, looking to just entered adulthood, being chased by Grimm, which were generally accepted as the enemies of the human race. That was the one thing that everyone seemed to be able to agree upon. She looked to be alone, and while she seemed capable, it was still cruel beyond belief to send her off to face such a thing by her lonesome.

Of course, while most of them thought this, not one of them made a move. While they were uncomfortable with the thought, they weren't the ones who brought the guns. Maybe next time, but this time, they were at a disadvantage. Ruby was a stranger, and it might be right to help her, but they weren't about to stare down a barrel to do so.

They weren't, but Blake was. Before anyone knew what was happening, Blake was knocking the gun aside with Gambol Shroud drawn as a katana, anger causing her pupils to narrow into vertical slits. "She just saved my life, and you dare put a gun in her face?! How dare you?! She should be treated as a hero! She had just crash landed, and still managed to kill a squad of Grimm, stopping them before they hardly made a move, and you threaten her?!" With each word, Blake's voice grew louder, ending in a shout that silenced all others in the group.

When the man finally regained composure, anger spread across his face, and with a violent swing, he backhanded Blake. Had it been anyone else, Blake's basic training might have allowed her to dodge. But as the man had said before, he had served in the military, and had seen more years of combat that Blake had lived. The blow hit her with such force, Blake was sent spinning away, rolling along the ground before striking a nearby tree. With a cry Velvet rushed to her side, fearing that her friend had been severely hurt.

"You damn beast," the man muttered, struggling to control the anger in his voice. "You think you have any say here? Your parents were god damned animals that left you alone in the world, leaving the town to raise you, and this is how you repay us? By siding with an outsider that you hardly know? We might as well put you down now." And with that comment, he leveled his gun on the pair.

Or he would have, if the gun had still been in one piece. In the time it took him to bring the gun to his shoulder, a flash of red shot by, and the gun crumbled to a pile of neatly cut pieces. Before he even had a chance to respond, he felt the cold touch of steel on his neck, threatening to show his throat to the world.

Ruby now stood back to back with the man, scythe resting on her shoulder and the blade looping around the man's neck. Somewhere along the line, her hood had been put up, and the darkness covering her face seemed to give her voice a whole new level of sinister depth. "I don't know who you are or what your story is, but I do know one thing. That girl raced through the forest to help someone in a crashing fighter craft, putting someone else's health fare above her own safety. She fought bravely to protect you from the Grimm that you so fear. And you dare say such things while pointing such a weapon at her? Give me one good reason right now not to remove your head from your shoulders and relieve this galaxy of one more racist scumbag."

The silence that followed stretched a second into an hour. Whoever this stranger was, they weren't near as defenseless as they looked. They moved with a trained grace that made them look like they hardly moved at all, and their voice made even the most hardened of their group shiver in their boots.

No one said anything for several moments, simply staring at the scene that unfolded before them, until one voice that commanded respect echoed out. "Because if you kill him, the rest of the 'warriors' here will never trust you. You made your point, so I suggest that you let the poor fool go."

All eyes turned to the new speaker. The head of the orphanage strode into the clearing where the argument was being held, looking rather annoyed while brushing a strand of blonde hair from her eyes. Ruby hesitated for a moment, glancing over at the newcomer, before flipping Crescent Rose away from the man's throat, allowing him to breathe easy again. The man stumbled forward, falling to his knees as he struggled to get as much distance from Ruby as possible. Not that it mattered. Ruby now gave off an air that made everyone take a step back, realizing just how dangerous this woman in the red cloak really was.

The orphanage head, however, wasn't even phased, walking straight up to the man as he struggled to catch his breath again. As she drew close, she pulled a riding crop from a strap on her hip and used it to turn the man's head to face her. Slowly she leaned in, her emerald eyes as cold as ice. "However," she said in a low voice, "if you ever, EVER, threaten one of my kids again, I will personally call her up, and have her remove each and every one of your limbs in the most painful ways imaginable. Are we clear?"

With a terrified nod, the man scrambled away, using the surrounding crowd to form a barrier between him and the two terrifying women. The rest of the crowd refused to even look up, the sheer presence of the two being too much for them. Slowly, the head of the orphanage turned and faced Ruby, eyes running over the athletic frame. Without taking her eyes off of Ruby, she called out, "Velvet, is Blake alright?"

"I'm fine," Blake groaned out before Velvet could reply, rubbing the cheek where she had been struck. "Don't worry about me."

"Good," the older woman replied. "In that case, you two take the children back to the orphanage. We will be along shortly."

"Where are you going?" Blake couldn't help but ask, eyes narrowing at the situation.

"Just for a walk," the head replied. "There are a few questions that I need to ask this young woman."

* * *

Ruby slowly walked behind the older woman, arms behind her back and her gaze turned toward the sky. They had left the group quite some time ago, yet neither of them had said a word. And Ruby certainly wasn't going to be the one to start this conversation. She was too afraid of where it might head.

Luckily for her, the headmistress of the orphanage spoke first. "I'm assuming you are uninjured from the crash, or the subsequent fight?"

"Not in the slightest. Thanks for the concern though," Ruby replied as they came to a stop.

"In that case, why did you come here?"

"What?"

"Don't act like you didn't hear the question."

Ruby sighed and leveled her gaze on the older woman. "It's like I said, my engine blew out and I had to used directional boosters to get here."

It was the older woman's turn to sigh as she turned to face Ruby. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't lie to me, Ms. Rose. I know that the Signal was three systems over and there were countless other inhabited planets that you passed on your way here. And it doesn't explain why you didn't just return to the Signal, or simply let them catch up with you."

Ruby was silent for a moment, staring into the woman's eyes. The pain in her eyes told the headmistress everything she needed to know, but Ruby spoke anyways. "The Signal is lost. Destroyed in a Grimm ambush during a training exercise. The Grimm were chasing me, I needed to go somewhere with a Hunter homing beacon. I didn't realize that I chose your planet. I'm sorry. I never meant to endanger the little ones."

It was the headmistress's turn to be silent. She had expected bad news, but this. This couldn't be. "The Signal… destroyed?" was all she could manage.

Ruby just nodded, blinking as she fought back the tears that she had been holding in for nearly two days. "Glynda, how do you do it? How do you take in the charges you do, knowing full well that they might someday die?"

Glynda Goodwitch remained silent as Ruby struggled to maintain her composure. "My entire class, murdered before my eyes, most before I even had a chance to blink. The Signal, the only home I have known for the past 8 years, gone in a flash. My father..." And Ruby Rose lost her battle against the tears.

Now Glynda was no stranger to crying children, especially one's that had just lost their parents. It was all part of her job, raising and protecting the children of fallen Hunters. Many a child came to this planet only to be left on her doorstep, unsure of what was happening. But she had never had this happen before. And that was because no child was like Ruby Rose.

As the child born between Hunters, Ruby's future was suddenly made very narrow. Either be raised knowing the love of a family and all the dangers of life, or be hidden away from the encroaching darkness, protected, yet alone. Ruby's parents had chosen the former, gently grooming her for the role of a huntress, but it wasn't long before her world was shattered. Summer Rose, one of the most accomplished pilots in Hunter history, and a woman placed on a track to replace Ozpin himself as Hunter Commander, died, single-handedly stopping a Grimm invasion and saving billions of lives.

But no matter how many times a child is told their mother is a hero, that doesn't fill the hole in their heart. Some wallow in sadness, some take it out on those around them. But Ruby Rose was nothing if not the daughter of Summer Rose. That day, she made two promises. Outwardly, she vowed to carry on the mission of her mother, and stop the Grimm incursion. But inwardly, she had promised herself to protect all those she cared about, no matter the cost. And so she had trained.

That had all been 4 years ago, and already Ruby was one of the top Huntresses in the force. Practically raised on the Signal, she had become an expert mechanical engineer at 16, pushing fighters beyond what was previously thought possible as easily as one would breathe. At the same time, she became an unmatched warrior, mastering nearly every weapon known to man and Faunus. It had gotten to the point that her piloting skills were almost expected and she became the youngest flight school instructor in Signal history.

But all that was behind them now. Ruby was now 18, the youngest full-fledged hunter in recent memory, and once again her world was turned on its head. Her home destroyed, her father dead. And the tough shell that had held her together for years was finally cracking. In two strides, Glynda moved to Ruby's side, and placed the younger woman in an embrace than only another Hunter could provide. And so Ruby Rose cried into the shoulder of her superior, clinging to one of the few women in the galaxy that could truly understand her pain.

* * *

Ruby's breakdown had been brief, but it had given Blake and the rest of the townspeople plenty of time to return to their homes. It would have been an even shorter trip if they had cut through the Grossier's wheat fields. But seeing as the head of the family was currently trailing behind the party, cradling the remains of his rifle with wide eyes, no one felt it appropriate for the moment.

But that hadn't stopped the children from the orphanage from bombarding Blake with a never ending stream of questions. Who was the woman she come back with? Why had Miss Goodwitch gone with her alone? Was she a friend? Was she going to live with them now? All excellent questions, but Blake had none of the answers. But that hadn't stopped the questions from nipping at her heels all the way home. Even as they settled back in at the orphanage, it was all Velvet could do to get the children to settle down, telling them Blake was still tired from her valiant rescue.

And with that, the children fell silent, enthralled as Velvet wove a tale of valor, of how Blake had raced across the planet without a second thought, only to be confronted with a burning ship and Grimm surrounding the lone pilot.

Blake smiled lightly at Velvet as she captivated the attention of every child, and even the visiting adults fell prey to Velvets yarn. Of course, she was exaggerating. In no way had Blake been forced to brave the flames to reach a cowering pilot, nor had she cut down a dozen Grimm in a blink of an eye, but she wasn't about correct the rabbit Faunus. Her tall tale was giving Blake a chance to process what had really happened.

A girl her age had fallen from the sky, tracked by the Grimm. The thought of Grimm alone should be enough to send someone into a state of panic, but she had acted as if it was an everyday occurrence. And that had by far been the most normal part of it. Blake still couldn't conceive of a way that that same woman had made it to a mountain, well over a kilometer away, managed to find a sniper perch, get off a handful of precision shots at the drop of a hat, and then run back from said mountain in a matter of seconds to save Blake's life.

Well, that was a lie, Blake could easily conceive of a way all that was possible. The woman was a huntress, exactly as Blake had thought. But now the more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed. For starters, they were the same age. Blake had been trying to find a way to contact the hunters since the day she had discovered her parent's true fate, and to this day had been unsuccessful. But the aura did not lie. So how had she done it? How had someone, who supposedly had the same goals as her, had so much more success?

Without even thinking about it, Blake had taken out Gambol Shroud, and removed the clip from its channel. She had long known about the firing capacities of her weapon, but she also knew that this clip had nothing to do with that function. No, what Gambol Shroud fired was compressed aura rounds, fed in from the user. And while she herself couldn't use it yet, she knew that because of that, a clip wasn't needed.

One day, while cleaning her inheritance, she had found a small compartment in the clip, containing an even smaller drive. And that drive had opened up a whole new world for her. The world of the Hunters.

The sound of the door shutting yanked Blake out of her thoughts. With a glance she saw the headmistress walk past, heels clicking with each step. But there was a strange sound following them. A stead clomp of boots, and the gentle tone of conversation.

"By the way, how is your sister?" the headmistress asked lightly, as if speaking with an old friend.

"Fine, last I heard. But seeing as that was over a year ago, that really doesn't mean much," a familiar reply came. Blake spun about to see a familiar red cloak drift around the corner, following the sound of clicking heels up the stairs.

What had just happened? Headmistress Goodwitch was cold to strangers at best, and terrifying on a good day. How had this girl, who she had only met just that day, managed to build such a rapport with the older woman?

Now curious, Blake got up and quietly slipped away from the children. Just as she was about to slip through the archway to the stairs, Blake froze, feeling a pair of eyes boring into her back. Apparently, Velvet hadn't missed her escape. Welp, now she had to investigate, because there was no way that Blake wouldn't be able to get away with simply feigning ignorance.

Allowing her Faunus skills take control, Blake silently padded up the stairs, her ears perked up as she searched for the sound of those familiar voices. When she reached the headmistress's quarters, she came to a stop as the voices finally reached her ears, and she didn't want the creak of her footsteps to give away her location.

"… Knows much more than that," Ruby's voice drifted to her through the door. "She has obviously trained herself in preparation."

"I have noticed changes, but I didn't think that they were quite to that degree," Goodwitch replied. "With all the little ones in this hall, I have a hard enough time making sure they eat their vegetables. So it is completely possible she had been training herself without me knowing."

"If you had seen her fight, you would know it's more than a possibility," came Ruby's reply. "She has done well on her own, and honestly, is probably better than most recruits."

The sudden praise caught Blake off guard, and put a grin on her face that she couldn't quite push back down. But before she could think about what had been said, Glynda continued. "I still want to know how she managed to find out about the Hunters so easily. If she was able to pick you out simply by catching a glimpse of your aura, she obviously has some sort of source."

"We are talking about the Belladonnas here. They left her with the family weapon. I'm willing to bet that they left her even more than that."

Blake could almost feel Goodwitch nodding in agreement. But what held Blake's attention was Ruby's apparent knowledge about her parents. Just how much did she know? Did she know them herself? No, that wasn't possible. Blake had hardly known her parents, they had died before she was three. There was no way that Ruby knew them better than her.

"So what do you intend to do?" Goodwitch asked, an edge in her tone. It sounded almost, hostile.

"That all depends on her," came Ruby's calm reply. "Blake, stop lurking and just come in already."

Blake froze momentarily, wondering if she could make a break for it. If she was quiet enough… No, that would never work. She had already been called out when she thought she had been silent, there was no way they wouldn't hear her make her way back down the hall. No, it was time to reap what she sowed. Straightening up, Blake confidently made her way into the Goodwitch's quarters.

* * *

 **I would say that this is a long time coming, but that would be a very inappropriate joke considering how long it took me to do this. But as it turns out, working a full time job over the summer does NOT give you more time that you have during the school year. Who knew? I hope to pick up the pace a bit on my writings, but unfortunately I can make no promises.**

 **As a point thought, someone asked if I planned on continuing this story. Just know this. If I ever start a story, I WILL finish it. It might take forever, it might have months between updates, it may feel rushed at the end, but no story will be abandoned. I have the ending of every story I plan already decided, it is simply the path from point A to point Z that is undecided. Even Fang's Embrace, which I'm sure a most of you have at least looked at, has an ending picked out, and I started that on a whim.**

 **Anyways, now that I have rambled at you, I'll let you go. Follow and review, let me know what you think, good or bad.**

 **Roommate Words of Wisdom: You can go the rest of your life without eating.**


	4. The Wanderer

The last remnants of smoke spiraled into the air, illuminated by the setting sun. The flames had long since been extinguished, and all the mercenaries were under armed surveillance as the settlement awaited the armored prison escort. Slowly, the colony was starting to pull itself back together after the events of that afternoon. But now the sun was setting on the day, and the efforts of the day were drawing to a close. Some people still wandered the streets, searching for loved ones that they lost during the attack, but for the most part, the streets were empty. One of the few exceptions was the mismatched pair slinking through the shadows as they made their way out of town.

"Yang, why are we doing this?" Weiss whispered as they slipped into yet another alley. "These people just suffered an attack, they aren't any threat to us."

"I know, but we are to them." Yang replied as she peered around a corner. Only when she was sure she saw no one in sight did she finally step around the corner.

"I'm sorry, what?" Weiss asked, taking a step away from Yang. "Are you threatening them?"

"No, I'm looking out for them. If they see us leave, they can give someone the direction and time we left. And as long as they know that, there will be people that will do anything to 'acquire' that information. It's better this way. For both us and them."

"I'm sorry, us?"

"Yeah, us."

"Yang, stop," Weiss ordered, coming to a stop herself.

Yang continued on for a few more steps before realizing Weiss had stopped. Sighing, she rolled her eyes and turned about. "Okay, I know you have questions, but this really isn't the time. Can we please just get off planet first?"

"I'm sorry, but no. There will be no 'off planet' for us. This will be no later. I appreciate what you have done for me, but getting out of town is as far as this goes."

"Really? And what do you plan to do? Sit around and wait for them to come back? Put those kids in danger again?! Kill the other half of this town?!"

Yang didn't realize that her voice was rising, but by the time she finished, she was shouting. Anger flashed visibly in her eyes, and Weiss found herself frozen before her, unsure of what to say as an uneasy silence settled between them. Eventually, Weiss turned about, remaining silent and refusing to look at Yang.

Yang was the first to speak again. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. You had no idea they were coming…"

A repressed choke cut Yang off as Weiss struggled to keep her shoulders from shaking. 'Oh gods, Yang, you really are an idiot,' Yang thought to herself as took a step towards Weiss. With a gentle hand, she reached out for the crying girl's shoulder, only for her hand to be slapped away the moment she came in contact.

"Don't… Just don't…" Weiss choked out as she brought herself under control. "You're right, I shouldn't have stayed here. I should have stayed away from the children. I should have known better than to think that I could be safe here. But…" Weiss turned to face Yang, tears still in her eyes but anger creasing her face, "my mistakes are mine alone. I am the only one who has to deal with them, and it is going to stay that way. I don't know what you are doing out here, or why you came straight to my aid. And the fact that I don't know why you are here or where you came from is more than enough for me to not trust you."

Yang took a step back, putting her hands in the air and taking a step back. Calmly, she said "I know you have no reason to trust me. I'm just some strange person that showed up and started attacking mercenaries. For all you know, I could be a bounty hunter, gunning for you head. But that isn't why I'm here, and deep down, I think that you know that to be true. I'm only here to look out for you. And let's face it, even if you leave without me, I'll just follow you to the next planet. And the one after that, and the one after that."

"And that just makes me think that I should kill you here and be done with it." As Weiss spoke, she rested her hand on Myrtenaster, turning herself in a way that was clearly meant to be a battle stance. "I don't know what made you think that I need a babysitter, but I can damn well take care of myself. And as someone without a weapon, I would think that you would know better than to…"

And that was the moment that she hit the ground.

"You should also know better. Just because someone doesn't carry a weapon, doesn't mean they are unarmed."

Weiss stumbled to her feet, her vision clearing from Yang's blow. She didn't even see the large blonde move, let alone attack, yet she could clearly feel three different spots where Yang had struck her. She heard the blonde through a haze, but she couldn't quite tell where she was.

"I know you're angry. I know you're scared. And damn it you have the right to be. But taking it out on me, probably the only one who can help un-fuck this situation, is not the solution," Yang said, stepping back into Weiss's field of vision as a yellow and tan blur.

"And what is the solution?!" Weiss called out blindly as she struggled to find balance in her step. "What could possible make things better?!"

"Nothing can make this better… Nothing can bring back the lives lost today. But you can make sure that it doesn't happen again. You can make sure that these people will be safe," Yang replied, once again stepping up to Weiss, steadying her as she stumbled.

"How?" Weiss croaked out, using Yang's guiding hand to once again right herself. "How do I save them?"

"We get off planet. That's how. We can go anywhere you want. Anywhere in the galaxy. Well, not Atlas or Grimm controlled space, but anywhere else. It's all up to you."

Weiss was silent for a moment, pondering her precious few options. Unfortunately for her, all of them seem to involve her leaving with Yang. "I still don't know if I can trust you," Weiss whispered, almost to herself.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I was given a pass phrase by someone. Something I was told would earn your trust. They told me to tell you, 'Only the loneliest can change it all.'"

The words instantly snapped Weiss's mind into clarity. "Where did you hear that?" Weiss asked, her eyes locked on Yang's.

"From a friend. But seeing as this is how you reacted, you know what they mean. We'll get into details later, but first, can we please, PLEASE, get off planet?" Yang begged, finally seeing a crack in Weiss's armor.

"Fine…" Weiss conceded, already knowing that it was her only option. "But first I need to get my speed cycle. It's hidden in the forest, about two miles north of town."

"It's already loaded onto my ship, so we are good to go," Yang replied, earning a cold glare from Weiss. "What? I came to this planet to find you, and I tracked your cycle. I had to find you somehow, and I couldn't have you taking off before we had the chance to talk." Weiss's cold expression did not change as she walked past Yang, annoyance apparent as she made her way to the end of the ally. "Hey, it worked out in the end!"

* * *

It took Weiss and Yang another hour to slip out of town unnoticed, and the sun had partially sunken beneath the distant horizon. Smoke still billowed into the air near the center of the town, but that was the last of the smoke columns that had been there during the day. By nightfall, it too would be extinguished, and people could truly prepare to rebuild their town.

That, at least, was what Weiss hoped, as she looked back at the town. No matter what she had been through, from tolerating Mercury to fearing the arrival of this day, it had been her home. And it could be that no more.

"Hey, don't worry," Yang said, attempting to comfort the shorter woman. "You'll be back. Take a little time, shake off those bounty hunters, and we can easily make a quick visit. And then you can give those kids a proper goodbye."

Weiss couldn't help but to smile at the thought. It was a nice gesture, but Weiss wasn't sure she could ever return. Not after the damage her mere presence had caused. She couldn't endanger the town people like that. It was just too selfish.

But as Weiss turned away, Sapphire's toothy grin flashed in her mind. 'Well,' Weiss thought, 'maybe I can just make a quick stop.' Whether Weiss would admit it or not, the small Faunus had made quite an impact on her. Between her fearless defense of Weiss and her boundless curiosity, she had become the figurehead for the future Weiss strived for. A future where each child had a chance to be all they could. A future where they could just be children, as opposed to the burdens that they were viewed as by the Atlas Corporation.

"Uhhhh… Weiss… Who is that?!"

Yang's question brought Weiss's train of thought to a screeching halt, as she looked around to see what the blonde meant. She was about to ask Yang what she was talking about when she spotted a rather large man running towards the pair, waving his arms frantically. Yang took a step on front of Weiss, her muscles tensing as she pulled Weiss behind her. Her eyes were locked on the man, intensely watching his every movement. Until Weiss flicked her in the back of the head.

"Ow… What the hell?" Yang asked, turning towards Weiss but never once taking her eyes off the man.

"I already told you, I can take care of myself," Weiss said with a harumph. "Besides, he's not going to be a problem."

Yang didn't say anything as she kept her eyes locked on the approaching man, but she allowed Weiss to step out from behind her to greet the man properly.

"Mr. Black. I must say, I didn't expect to see you out here. Or at all, as unfortunate as that is."

"Weiss…" Mr. Black panted as she came to a stop before the two younger women. "I'm glad… I caught you… Ms. Incolore… and the children… told me you were… leaving… I thought I… missed you…"

Yang just stared at the large man, amazed he was still standing. His large stature did nothing to hide his apparent lack of exercise. But that hadn't stopped him from sprinting the entire way here, if his panting or sweat drenched clothing were any indication. Even his dark gray suit was starting to show signs of sweat leaking through. Yet despite his disheveled appearance, when the man stood upright again, he gave off such an air of importance that his appearance suddenly didn't matter.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't…" Weiss trailed off as she started staring at her feet, as if afraid to look the man in his eyes."

"Weiss…" Mr. Blake said with a shake of his head. "Don't be sorry. You couldn't have known this was going to happen. You didn't bring this disaster to this town. The fault lies with me, and my idiotic son. None of this," Mr. Black gestured to the town, "was any fault of yours."

"But I…"

"Did nothing wrong. Weiss, try as you might to blame this on yourself, no one here will ever blame you for what happened. As I ran through town, nearly every person I passed asked if you were okay. Whether you planned it this way or not, this town has embraced you as one of its own, and they know what this town means to you…"

Weiss didn't say anything to that, despite her own best efforts. Gradually, tears started to well in her eyes for the second time that day, and she hung her head. In a gentle movement, Mr. Black stepped forward, and wrapped his arms around the crying girl, comforting her as he would his own child.

"It will be fine Weiss. I understand. You do what you must. But know, we will always be here should you need us." Still holding Weiss, Mr. Black then turned his attention to Yang, standing off to the side, unsure of how to respond to the scene before her. "You there. I assume you are the 'big fire woman' the children referred of. Take this scroll," he said, while extending one arm to give Yang the small device. "I saw some of the mercenaries you 'disabled' on the way out here. Thank you, for being there for Weiss. If either of you should ever need anything, anything at all, use that scroll. Call me, show it to someone, or even wear it as a badge. Anywhere in the Federation, should you have that scroll, you will be in my care."

Slowly, Yang took the scroll, giving it a quick once over before nodding her head. "I'll make sure she stays safe."

"I'm sure you will. I don't quite know who you are, but I have this feeling that the two of you will be important. To whom or for what, I don't know, but I do know this. Weiss will one day do great things. But she will need someone by her side, someone to guide her. Someone who can be there for her. I hope that someone is you."

"That was the plan," Yang said with a small smile.

Gradually, Weiss regained her composure and pulled away from Mr. Black with a grateful smile. "Well, I guess we should be off. Mr. Black, you stay safe. And thank you. For everything."

"Don't you worry about me girl," He replied with a smile. "I'll be fine. Even if it's not in this life, I hope we can meet again. Hopefully under better circumstances."

And with that, Yang and Weiss, tuned away from the town where Weiss had lived. A town that would always have a place in her heart. And even after the town was long obscured by darkness and nature, Weiss could still feel the warm smile of Mr. Black, wishing her well in the next stage of her life.

* * *

"Yang…"

"Yes Weiss?"

"Who did you steal this ship from?"

The two women were now standing before a far larger ship than Weiss ever expected. When Yang said that she had loaded Weiss's cycle onto the ship, she assumed that it was a basic transport ship, just enough to carry its cargo to the next race destination when it wasn't modified for deep space flight.

But this, this was anything but a basic transport ship. The clearing where Weiss had hidden her speeder had been rather large in order to allow for quick escape and simple takeoff. A normal transport ship would have filled maybe a quarter of it, possible even less than that. But Yang's ship filled the almost the entire space, almost causing Weiss to question how she hadn't seen such a ship fly in, or land just outside of town. Especially one that looked so battered. The once smooth shell was pulled apart in places, exposing the much rougher mechanical components underneath. In fact, the entire stern of the ship appeared to have had the external plating removed, as if deemed unnecessary. But despite the damage it had apparently endured, Weiss could clearly see the value of the ship. The engines on the back of the ship appeared to be top of the line, easily able to outrun any other transport ship of any class. They were nestled in the center of the ship, as it spread out to cover a span of at least 50 meters at the rear, and held a pair of massive cargo holds on either side of the engines. Such a ship, even in its apparent state of disrepair, would easily be sought after by any merchant in the galaxy thanks to the sheer size of the holds and the grade of the engines.

Yang gave Weiss an insulted look as stepped aboard her ship. "I didn't steal this," Yang said in her defense. "It was a gift…"

"I swear, it's almost like you don't want me to trust you," Weiss muttered, nearly missing Yang's offered hand of assistance.

"What, I'm serious! My old boss gave it to me! He just didn't tell anyone else about it…"

"Great…" Weiss said, rolling her eyes as Yang pulled her up the last few steps. "That sounds so much better."

"Hey, it was his to give, it's not like anyone else could tell him no anyways," Yang shrugged, closing the airlock hatch and activating the boarding procedure.

"I somehow doubt it was that simple," Weiss muttered, but followed Yang none the less. "So how big is your crew?"

As the airlock hisses shut behind them, Yang turns about, giving Weiss a small smile. "Including us?" She asked. Once Weiss nodded in affirmation, the smile only grew on Yang's lips. "Two." It was then that the air lock finally opened, revealing the vast, empty ship. While the exterior of the ship was battered as if it had been flown, poorly, through an asteroid field, the interior was in pristine condition, as if new from the factory with not a single thing out of place.

To her left was the cockpit at the bow of the craft, the controls spread out before two seats. And to her right was what Weiss could only call a command center. A state of the art holo-table sat in the middle of the room, currently displaying the planet of Ziben, and every ship on or orbiting it. Monitors lined the walls, each one with an unused console keyboard beneath it and information scrolling across the screens. And all of it seemed to be top of the line military tech.

"Uhhh… Yang?" Weiss called out, voice shaking a bit more than she expected.

"Yeah?" Yang called back from the cockpit, where she was running initial checks on her ship's systems.

"What exactly does your boss do that made him think you would need all this?"

Yang looked back at Weiss, and noticed the shock on her face as she examined the holo-table, jumping slightly when the planet was suddenly replaced with a layout of the ship. A smile graced her lips as she stood to stand at Weiss's side. "Believe it or not, he calls himself a teacher."

Weiss turned an incredulous gaze on Yang, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she replied. "Oh, that makes perfect sense. I could see why a teacher would need all of this."

Yang shrugged as she passed Weiss, moving to the rear of the ship. "Hey, your words, not mine. Now would you like to see your quarters or stand here gawking at that holo-table."

"I was not gawking," Weiss argued as she followed Yang through the door that had just hissed open.

"Really? Could have sworn I heard the echo as your jaw hit the floor," Yang replied as she led Weiss through shifting corridors. "Anyways, crew quarters are split up into the four rooms up here, and since we are the only two on board, we don't need to share anything. Our crew could triple in size and we would still be fine. Each quarters has its own restroom, so you won't have to worry about wandering into the wrong room in the mornings. And at the end of the hall is the lounge."

Sure enough, Weiss could see an open area, furnished with bar and couch, at the end of the hall with a glass pane looking out into the woods. When they were in the vastness of space, the view would be incredible, and probably very useful, should they ever pull alongside someone else.

"And I guess that's about it for now," Yang said, resting on the wall with hands behind her head.

"What?" Weiss gave her a confused look. "I've hardly seen a third of this ship, and you say that's it? What about the cargo bay? The mess hall and storage? ANY of the defense stations?"

"For starters, all defensive procedures are handled from the cockpit, and can be fully automated. How else could I run it without a standing crew? The cargo bay and food storage both accessed from a lower level, but the access for either of those are back at the command center that you found yourself so fascinated with. Cargo bays will be to the left and right, and the mess hall is the area beneath the hall leading to the cockpit. But to access them on planet, you need computer authorization, which I can't give you yet."

"And why is that?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms.

"I dunno," Yang shrugged. "The computer has a system that it doesn't allow for changes on planet, only when in flight or orbit. Some sort of security measure. Kind of a stupid one if you ask me, but I wasn't the one who set it up. But, it makes it nice at the same time, since no one can take the ship without me. Hell, the engines won't even start if I'm not at least one of the people in the cockpit."

"Then how long until we can get going? I would like to make sure you didn't harm my Hornet when you recklessly moved it yourself." Weiss's comment received a raised eyebrow from Yang, prompting Weiss to elaborate. "Hornet is my custom speeder. And if it's damaged, your fitting the bill."

"Ahhh…" Yang replied, understanding crossing her face. "Well, you don't need to worry princess, your precious speeder doesn't have a scratch on it. And even if it did, I know someone who could make it even better than before."

"Sure you do," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "So, back to getting off this planet?"

Yang turned and walked down the hall, signaling Weiss to follow. "Right, first things first then. The computer is finishing up the pre-flight checks, and it will let us know when it is done. But until then, let's go to the cockpit and get you familiar with the controls."

"Uhhh… Why?" Weiss asked as she followed Yang back through the command center. "Can't you do it yourself?"

"I can," Yang conceded, "but it's been a while since I had a co-pilot. Thought it would be fun."

"In what way could it be…?" Weiss started, but stopped as she walked into the cockpit. The forest expanded out before them through the view screen, providing a stark contrast between the outside world and the cockpit itself. Lights and switches adorned every wall and panel, surrounding the two seats. But what caught Weiss's attention was that before each seat was pair of handles, suspended in the air with what Weiss could only assume were magnets.

"So…" Yang started, tearing Weiss's attention away from handles. "Have you ever flown with complete three-dimensional maneuverability?"

* * *

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU MANAGE TO FLY THIS BY YOURSELF?!"

"Calm down Weiss, not everyone gets three-dimensional maneuverability in their first go. Hell, you did better than me when I first tried it."

"Then explain how you managed to fly this across space, through an atmosphere undetected, and land it perfectly in a clearing barely bigger than the ship without a co-pilot!"

"Well… I've been doing this for a while. Does saying the computer helped make it any better?"

"NO! The computer helped with take-off too, and you saw exactly how well that went!"

"Those deer will be fine, all you did was spook them."

"I don't think that almost crashing a massive ship right at their feet counts as spooking them!"

"Hey, bright side. You didn't crash, and we are now in space, free to go wherever you want. Let focus on that rather than what may or may not have happened during lift off."

"Fine… But you are going to teach me how to properly pilot this thing. By the way, how does that even work? I could have sworn the engines were in the back of this vessel."

"They were, but they simply detached for lift off."

Weiss turned in her seat to face Yang, her gaze showing clear annoyance, both with the blonde and herself. Rather than feel the lash of her white haired companions tongue, Yang chose to elaborate on what she said.

"This ship is equipped with three main engines located at the back of the ship. All of them are locked in place and work off the drive core between the cargo bays. Pretty basic stuff. But there are six secondary engines as well."

"Six?" Weiss cut in, confusion evident in her eyes. "Why would you ever need that many secondary engines? Do you just expect your main engines to fail?"

"If you would let me finish, I could explain," Yang sighed. "The six secondary engines have housing near the back surrounding the three engines, but they detach upon lift off, and move about the ship freely using a magnetic field generated by the ship itself. That's the reason why the ship looks so torn apart on the outside. The field has a tendency to rip apart the ship's casing. Or anything metal that shouldn't be there."

"Then how are the secondary engines fueled? Surely them just floating around outside will cause them to eventually run out of fuel and become worthless."

"The fuel itself is classified, but I have a source. Trust me when I say they won't run out any time soon."

"What do you mean classified? Who am I going to tell, the computer? The people trying to kill me for money? Your boss that gave-slash-stole a ship for you?"

"Okay, I get it. Look, you wouldn't understand if I told you. It's not exactly a conventional fuel source. So let's leave it at that."

A silence settled between the two as they drifted further and further away for Ziben, no particular destination in mind. Yang was trying to think of places they could go when Weiss suddenly spoke up again.

"Where did you hear that phrase?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The one you told me in town. After I had my break-down…"

"Oh, the 'loneliest' thing?" Yang asked, earning a nod of affirmation for Weiss. "The same man who gave me this ship told me that phrase. It was one of the last things he told me on my way out."

"Wait, he?"

"Yeah, he. Why, that a game breaker for ya?"

"Then he must have found her…" Weiss whispered to herself, ignoring Yang as her hand once again instinctively reaching for Myrtenaster. But rather than draw it, she decided to give Yang the benefit of the doubt and ask before making a move. "So he obviously sent you to find me. What did he tell you to do when you did?"

"Nothing much," Yang shrugged, pretending not to notice Weiss's movements. "He just gave me a general idea of where to find you, and asked me to protect you. Apparently, he made some sort of promise himself, and it happened to be around the same time as my leaving his… company. He helped me out, so I figured I would return the favor. So, for now, you're stuck with me."

"Is there any chance I'm going to meet this boss of yours?" Weiss asked, now interested in what was being said. If what Yang said was true, then this man had met Winter, and she had deemed him trustworthy. At least enough so that she had asked him to protect Weiss.

"Dunno," Yang replied with a shrugged, shifting the ship a bit in the process. "With the exception of him and his… assistant, I'm not exactly welcome back there. My 'body-guarding' services weren't up to their standards."

Weiss sunk back into her chair, trying to hide her disappointment. "Is that so? What did you do, walk your client right into a trap."

"Not quite…" Yang replied. "It's a long story, and it's one that's going to have to wait."

"And why is that?"

Yang pointed to a single flashing light on the dashboard before them before taking a hold of the handles before her. "Because that, my dear Weiss, is a distress signal."

* * *

"And why are we rushing half way across a star system for this again?" Weiss asked, her knuckles turning white as she fought to hold the control handles in place.

"Because that beacon going off there is on a very specific signal. And only two groups of people will have it."

"And who would that be?"

"One would be my former employers," Yang said, not taking her eyes of the blank space before them. "And I will take any opportunity I can get to earn a favor from them."

"Okay, I suppose that's fair. So who is the second group?"

"People who I owe favors to, or friends that need not ask for one. Either way, I want to be there."

"Well, it looks like you get your wish," Weiss said, watching as two ships came into view.

"What the Hell…" Yang whispers, immediately recognizing one of the crafts. It was impossible not to. Grimm craft design had a very distinctive appearance. Without saying another word, Yang accelerates, throwing Weiss deeper into her seat.

"Yang, what are you doing?!" Weiss shouts, recognizing the craft design herself. "This is a transport! That's a Grimm attack craft! Even if it isn't a battleship, they easily outgun us!"

"That's what you think princess," Yang says with a smirk. "Now sit back and see why I call this ship the Firestorm." With that, Yang flipped a cover up on her handles, and pressed the trigger beneath it.

"ENGAGING COMBAT AUTO PILOT. ALL WEAPONS ARE FREE MS. XIAO LONG," the computers automated voice rang out. And before Yang, the handles drifted away, only to be replaced with a new set, riddled with triggers and buttons. But Yang took them with confidence, a crosshair appearing before her.

"Let's see what they've got. Weiss, could you flip the switch to your right? It says energy right below it, it will activate our shields."

Weiss complied, and almost immediately she could hear a hum as the ship was encased in a light blue envelope, shielding them from any outside attacks.

"Engaging now," Yang said to no one in particular as she pulled three of the triggers. Once again, Weiss could hear the sounds of the ship activating its systems, but this time, it seemed to come from all around her. What she couldn't see was the ship's guns deploying from their hidden ports all over the ship. What she could see was the immediate reaction, as a stream of energy blasts accompanied two streams of particle cannon ammunition, all of which was racing towards the Grimm craft. The energy beams simply hit the Grimm ship and disappeared, a blue wave rippled out from their impact spot as the Grimm shield adsorbed their payload. But the never ending streams of particle ammo cut right through the energy shield, gouging a hole in the side of the craft. Explosions could be seen within as the oxygen rich environment the Grimm needed caught fire. Soon the glow could even be seen in the cockpit. Realizing they were out gunned, the ship made to leave, earning only a chuckle from Yang.

"I never said you could leave." And with that, she pushed one of the buttons atop the gunner handles. She was rewarded with the roar of a missile that shot off towards the Grimm ship. It found its way directly into the engine of the retreating ship, sending debris out across space, and causing a second, much larger explosion as what Weiss could only assume was the Grimm's fuel source ignited, destroying what remained of the ship.

"And that's that," Yang chuckled, clapping her hands together as if to wipe them clean. "Now let's see who we saved."

Weiss just found herself speechless at what she had seen. A transport ship, a simple transport ship, had just displayed more firepower in a matter of seconds then Weiss had ever seen before. Hell, not even war dramas went that far in their weapon effects. The Grimm had never stood a chance. As Weiss recovered from her shock, she just barely heard Yang call over the communicator, "Repeat, this is the Firestorm, making contact with unmarked vessel. Is everything okay over there?"

For a brief moment, there was silence, and Weiss began to wonder if they were too late. But after what seemed like eternity, a man's voice called back through the speakers. "This is Thunder Rider. Sorry Firestorm, our SID was knocked out at the start of the surprise attack. We just barely got the radio back up and running. Thanks for the assist."

"Wait," Yang said into the radio, brow slightly creased, "Did you say Thunder Rider?"

"WAIT A MINUTE, I KNOW THAT VOICE!"

"Oh god…" Yang said under her breath, burying her head in her hand. Weiss was about to ask what was happening when the radio cut out and a projection kicked itself on instead. In the center, a tall woman stood. Well, stood might not have been quite right. Bounced was more accurate.

"OH MY GOD IT IS YOU! YANG! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT HERE?!"

"Hey Nora, how you doing?" Yang replied as a smile graced her lips. Yang didn't seem upset with the girl, but she seemed to lack the energy for what was to come. Weiss took this moment to pay more attention to the hologram, trying to figure out who this was. She wore white boots laced together with pink stopped just below her knees and an open white jacket revealed an equally pink shirt. The fabric stretched across her body as it barely containing her muscular shoulders and clearly toned abs. A black skirt rested on her hips and reached for her knees, standing out against her ginger hair. But perhaps the thing that caught her attention the most was the emblem that rested on the upper arms of her jacket before tapering off to a pink stripe. It was an emblem she had seen before.

"Uh… Yang? I think we shouldn't…" Weiss started, but was quickly cut off by the hologram.

"I HAVE BEEN GREAT! Ren and I have been going all over the place, doing our thing, stealing from the rich, giving to the… Well you know how it goes!"

"That I do," Yang replied with a chuckle, not seeming to hear Weiss's attempt at a warning. "Where is Ren, anyways?"

As if on cue, alarms began to go off all round Weiss and Yang, and the computer called out "WARNING, MULTIPLE SHIPS EXITING HYPERSPACE JUMP." Not a moment later, a half dozen ships appeared around them, exiting their system jumps with practiced accuracy. Five battleships and one heavy cruiser surrounded them on all sides, guns trained on Yang and Weiss. And each one of them bore the same emblem that rested on Nora's shoulder. A lotus flower, with a lightning bolt striking through it.

"The Lotus Pirates," Weiss whispered, as if afraid speaking too loud would evoke immediate retaliation.

A new voice called out over the radio, cutting off Nora's excited squeal. "Attention transport ship Firestorm. You are surrounded. Disable your weapons and prepare to hand over any goods you have. Don't bother fighting back, we aren't afraid to salvage your goods from your…"

"All gunners, stand down," a voice interrupted the demands, calm in its order.

"Sir? Are you …"

"You heard me. Stand. Down. We do not steal from those that save one of our own. And we do not point our guns at our friends. Especially this one."

Weiss felt her eyes widen as the words came through the radio, and she slowly turned to Yang, who still had a confident smile on her lips. Weiss wasn't sure what to say, or how to respond when Yang leaned forward and flipped on a holo-projector, sending her own image out to the receiving ships. Smile still on her lips, she looked straight ahead, and replied.

"Good to see you too, Ren."

* * *

 **I really should apologize. This took far longer than I mean it too. But I guess its better late than never. If its any consolation, the next chapter is planned out and I will be finishing and publishing it before I return to cycle. So there will soon be more Millennial Rose.**

 **Something off topic here, but I doubt it will be the last time I mention it, I recently joined quite an interesting group. A group that has started a new story, Room 205. Check it out, its a collaboration posted on NobleMeta's profile between myself,** **NobleMeta, GhostPhoenix113, PhoenixCommander, angelsixtwofive, TheDarkenedRose, Shadow Nightblade, SylverLining, and lymle300-2.**

 **Well, I that hope you enjoyed, that you will enjoy 205, and that you will enjoy what is to come. Let me know you thoughts in reviews, and I'll see ya next time.**

 **Remember, If you're a sub-par golfer, your actually doing pretty well.**


	5. The Decision

"Ms. Belladonna, what have I said about eavesdropping?" Glynda scolded as she watched Blake walk through the doorway.

"To not let you catch me doing it again…"

"So what do you have to say for yourself?"

"You weren't the one who caught me," Blake muttered, stealing a glance at Ruby as she did.

Ruby was sitting lazily in a leather arm chair, one leg resting over the armrest. With a surprising level of self-control, she managed to keep a straight face at Blake's comment. Not many people had the nerve to talk to Glynda Goodwitch in that way, and even fewer were able to do it without immediate repercussions. But Glynda didn't seem to be surprised at the comment, only exhausted.

"When I said to not let me catch you, I didn't mean… Never mind. Exactly how much have you heard?"

"Enough," Blake replied with a shrug. "Enough to know that I was right, that she is a huntress, and so were my parents. Enough to know that you are too."

"Is that so?" Glynda asked, crossing her arms across her chest. "And how exactly did find out about the Hunters? It isn't exactly common knowledge."

"Well, I…" Blake started, before stopping herself, not sure exactly how much she should reveal. Subconsciously, she started to reach for Gambol Shroud, only to catch herself part way, and change the movement into scratching the back of her head. "I stumbled across it on accident."

Ruby, from her chair, caught Blake's movement, and let a small smile grace her lips. "Let it go, Glynda, it's not like she wasn't to going learn about it eventually. Like I said, the Belladonna's had their ways."

"Still…" Glynda insisted, "I would rather know as to ensure that something like this won't happen again."

"Look," Ruby replied, sitting up in her chair, "Bryce was a master aura user who imbued every piece of his, and his wife's, equipment with his aura. Maybe he found a way to get a message to Blake through his aura, probably imbued into that blade. And Sarah was an expert when it came to hidden interactions. Any part of this building could have been slightly rearranged to catch Blake's interest, guiding her to a hiding place that no one else could ever find. So no matter what it was, it happened, and it's contained to this building at the most."

Both Glynda and Blake locked their eyes on Ruby, surprised at her sudden analysis. Blake couldn't be sure that what Ruby was saying was true, but she had never seen her headmistress react in such a way. Glynda almost always had an intellectual response, toppling those around her with her impressive insight. But now, she simply stared at the dark haired woman in the chair, apparently at a loss for words.

Ruby, for her part, simply let the two stare. She knew what she said was accurate, and it was more than enough for Glynda to shift her focus from how this had happened back to what needed to be done. She waited for the older huntress to respond, but was caught off guard when Blake spoke first.

"How… how do you know my parents?"

Ruby grimaced at the question. Having lost her own parents, she could understand, to a degree, what Blake was going through. And the mere possibility that her parents were out there, somewhere, and that Ruby knew them was not a lie that Ruby was comfortable telling.

"I don't. I've simply heard of them, and seen their work first hand. I've done what I can to learn from their recorded lessons and videos, but I have never been able to reach their levels. Losing the two of them was a great loss for us all."

"Videos?" Blake asked, her voice losing some of its hope.

"Ms. Rose," Glynda interrupted, stopping Ruby from replying to Blake and putting herself in an even more uncomfortable position. "I will accept you analysis of the Belladonna's, but you still have yet to tell me what you intend to do here."

Ruby sighed, and stood up from her chair, clasping her hands behind her back and walking to a nearby window. As she walked, she spoke. "I think I already told you. I have plenty of plans, but they are all based off of a couple simple questions for Blake here. And you know what they are." When Ruby reached the window, she turned about, using her hands to brace herself against the window frame as she leaned back. "Blake, how old are you?"

"What?" Blake asked aloud, brows furrowing in confusion. She looked to her headmistress, as if to ask what to do, only to receive an approving nod. Slowly, she responded "I recently turned 18…"

"Perfect," Ruby replied. "And knowing what you know, what do you want to do, seeing as this orphanage does not keep anyone over 18 years of age?"

Glynda opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off by Blake when she answered, without hesitation, "I want to be a hunter."

Ruby looked to Glynda, and gave a small shrug. "See? Seems pretty straight forward from here."

"It certainly is not," Glynda replied in a stern voice. "You may think it's over just like that, but while she is in my care, she will hear all of her options before you convince her to go with whatever you allow her to think is the simplest option."

"Fine," Ruby groaned, walking back over to the chair and allowing herself to slide over the armrest, resting her back on the other. "You still know what the answer will be."

"Be that as it may, she will hear the options none the less. There is more to this life than simply becoming a hunter."

"But I…" Blake started, but was quickly cut off when Glynda raised a hand.

"I know you already said you want to be a hunter, but you will hear what I have to say before you make a decision. And besides, this lesson is not for you alone."

Blake shot Glynda a quizzical look as the older woman turned to the door, and raised her voice slightly above talking volume. "Velvet, when you have a moment, could you please come up here?"

Blake relaxed as she realized what the orphanage head was doing, and went about finding a comfortable place in the room. Ruby was lounging in the only guest chair, and Blake wasn't quite brave enough to take a seat in the Glynda's chair. Instead, she opted for the window Ruby had just been leaning against, resting her back against the frame crossing one leg over the other.

Not more than a minute later, Velvet peaked through the door, obviously nervous. "Ummm… is something wrong?" she squeaked, eyes darting around the room from person to person.

"Wow, that was quick," Ruby commented from her chair, causing Velvets eyes to lock onto her. "Don't worry, everything's fine. We just need to speak with you. It's Velvet, right? Scarlatina?"

"Uhhh…" Velvet started, looking at Glynda, as if to ask permission. When Glynda gave a reassuring nod, Velvet continued, "Yes, that's me. I'm sorry, but do I know you from somewhere?"

"I would hope not," Ruby replied. "Otherwise, I'm not doing my job right."

"Your job?" Velvet asked, clearly confused at what was happening.

"Don't mind her, Velvet," Ms. Goodwitch said with a wave, shooting Ruby as slight glare. "We'll get to her later. But first, there is something I wish to tell you and Blake."

Velvet seemed to accept this and nodded, looking at Blake from the corner of her eye. Blake, on the other hand, was focused purely on Ms. Goodwitch, intent on hearing what she had to say. And Ruby, for her part, couldn't look more bored, slouching in the chair even deeper as Glynda began.

"As both of you know, this orphanage has a policy. We house children, no matter where they come from and no matter how old they are, until they turn 18 years old. When they turn 18, they have one year to make a decision. This decision, however, isn't something that the younger children are privy to. The fact that I'm tell you this now, even if just before your 18th birthday, is a deviation from a policy that hasn't changed for years. But recent events have moved the timeline up, and I'm afraid I must ask you to make your decision now."

Silence fell over them as Blake and Velvet stared at their headmistress. Something about the way Glynda had spoken had demanded complete and total attention. Even Ruby seemed to be listening from her chair, despite her relaxed posture. Glynda, rather than continue, made her way over to her desk, running her fingers along the wooden frame.

"Okay…" Velvet said, breaking the silence. "I understand we need to decide, but isn't it a simple decision? Do we want to stay on planet, or do we want to go somewhere else? Isn't that why we usually have a year, to raise the funds should we chose to leave?"

"Generally, yes," Ruby spoke up, shocking both Blake and Velvet. Both turned on her with confused expressions. "What?" Ruby defended. "You're not the only ones that have to go through a system like this."

Before either of them could argue Ruby's point, Glynda spoke up again. "Ms. Rose is correct, as she is a product of such a system, even if it was under vastly different circumstances. The difference is that she was given a choice at a much earlier age. And it will be the same choice I am giving the two of you now. I hope that your experience can guide you to a choice you will not regret."

"The first thing the two of you need to know, is that your parents loved you very much." Glynda said solemnly, as she braced herself for their reaction. This was quite possible her least favorite part of her job. Not only telling the children that she knew their parents, but confirming, without a shadow of a doubt, their demise.

But to her surprise, the two young women hardly flinched. Neither had grown up knowing their parents, but never once had they believed the stories. They had never believed that their parents had abandoned them without a word. Glynda, despite her best efforts to be a fair, balanced parental figure, had always favored these two. Just as she favored a select few of the other children, all of which held the same history. Abandoned, with no one knowing their parents identity.

"You knew them, didn't you?" Blake asked, her voice perfectly level. "You knew them, and took us in when they died."

Glynda lowered her head slightly, realizing she had underestimated these two. Most others that were told this story immediately broke down at the mere mention of parents, and the fact that they hadn't been abandoned. But Blake and Velvet had always been different.

"Yes," Glynda eventually replied. "Yes, I knew them. They were wonderful people, helping man and Faunus alike to survive on these harsh worlds. They were the very embodiment of what it means to be a hunter."

"Hunters? You mean like…" Velvet started, but trailed off, not sure how to finish her sentence.

"Like the legends of old," Blake finished, not taking her eyes off of Glynda.

"Yes," Glynda confirmed. "Your parents were huntsmen and huntresses. And some of the best we have ever known. Their loss was tragic, but they willingly gave their lives to ensure millions would live."

Tears glistened in Velvet's eyes as she heard the news, but they still shone with pride. Her parents had been heroes. They had been synonymous with the warriors of legend. They had been hunters, and Velvet could not be more proud.

"Ms. Belladonna, through means that I have yet to find out, already knew this. But you, Ms. Scarlatina, should have had no previous knowledge of this. And it is because of that I called you up here today. Because today, as the children of hunters, you must make a decision."

Velvet did not speak, but nodded. Taking this as approval to continue, Glynda turned to look at Blake. But before she could speak, the dark haired cat Faunus also nodded, encouraging the older woman to continue.

"As children of this orphanage, I will do everything I can to help you, both now, and as you go out into the world. While I can never truly replace them, I will act the part of your parents. This is true for every child that comes through here, but as the children of hunters, I feel a special obligation to you. That is why I won't force you into this world. While you are in my care, you will know about every option available to you, both in, and outside, of the world of the Hunters."

Glynda paused momentarily, striding over to stand next to Blake, looking out the window at the town. "The first option is one shared by every orphan that ever lives under this roof. Ms. Belladonna, given your apparent conviction, I would understand your desire to ignore this option, but I would like you to listen to me none the less. You have the choice to take what I say here, and pretend it never happens. You have the option to live a normal life, have a normal family, and raise normal children. No one here will judge you, and you will always have the support of the Hunters. Should you ever need us, we will be there. All we ask is that you tell no one of us. Although, knowing the two of you, I doubt this will be a problem."

Both Faunus women nodded simultaneously, pulling a small smile from Ruby. The dark clothed warrior leaned back further into the armchair, closing her eyes. She didn't need to watch anymore, she knew what would happen now. It was a story that had been told time and time again, and it wasn't about to change now.

"The second option," Glynda continued, as she turned about and slowly began to pace around the room, "Is something that only a select few of the children get to hear. Even as the children of hunters, this option is limited to those I feel I can trust. And the two of you have never given me any reason not to do just that. Sure, you sneak off and wander the woods by yourselves, but never once have I had any reason to doubt your return."

The final line caused a small smile to appear on each Blake's and Velvet's lips, and Velvet glanced down slightly, embarrassed about being caught. Neither denied the accusation, of course. They had been taking their walks since early into their teenage years, and more than once Blake had felt Glynda's watchful gaze on their backs as they entered the woods. Given how long they had lived here, it was only natural that Glynda knew where they were.

"The second option, however, is something that will only be given to you once. Once you make a decision, you can change your mind and chose any of these other options, but never again will this be a choice, except under the most extraneous of circumstances. This decision affects much more than just yourselves and you must committed to such a choice. Your second option is to live here with me, well beyond your 19th birthday, and train to be the next headmistress of this orphanage. Both of you may make the decision and take the stead together, so you are in no way limiting the other by taking this option. But should you take this option, you must realize that as long as you hold this post, you will not be a huntress. You will be trained by me, and you will be aware of hunters in the galaxy, but you will never be one of them. You won't be required to achieve their levels, as Ms. Rose and I have."

"What?" Blake cut in, slightly confused. "If we won't be trained the levels of a huntress, then why are you?"

Glynda stopped pacing momentarily to glance back over her shoulder at Blake. "Because I didn't chose this life initially. Originally, I was a full-fledged huntress. I once stood in the same place you do now, hearing this same story. The previous headmistress was the woman who raised me, and in her passing, she had none ready to fill her shoes. As such, I have taken her stead."

Once again, Glynda began to pace, not allowing the momentum she had gained to die off. "The third option before you is when your decision will begin to truly matter. If you chose this or the final option, your lives will constantly be in some form of danger. Those around you will share in your plight, and you will always know companionship, but it will not ease the danger. Because if you choose either of these paths, you will truly enter the world of the Hunters. A world that few know, and even fewer survive."

"Your next option is to become the support the Hunters need. The possibilities in this option are endless, as the Hunters will always need help on their missions. You may become a mechanic, or a field technician. You can become an instructor, teaching some field you never knew you excelled in, or a researcher, finding new ways to improve the galaxy. Or, gods forbid, you could become a spy, going to far away planets and gathering intel for missions, or subtly pushing the agenda of the Hunters in planetary governments. This choice can branch out indefinitely, but it will always keep you in the background, safely away from the front lines. Well, as safe as you can be fighting a shadow war. You can be the mechanics on the ship leading a hidden charge, or the intelligence officer that discovers the next incoming attack. But either way, you will be there, working to improve the galaxy, right alongside the Hunters."

Blake listened more intently to this option than she had the other two. This was more along the lines of what she wanted. This was closer to the world she had dreamed of. The world of her parents. The world of legends. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. As much as she wanted to dive right into this world, what Glynda had just described wasn't her dream. It wasn't the same was what her parents had been. It wasn't the same as Ruby. It wasn't the same as becoming a huntress.

Velvet, for her part, was listening very intently, absorbing everything that was said. All of this was new to her, and every bit of it fascinated her. But as she listened, something stirred inside her. Something that told her these options weren't quite right. It was a feeling that she couldn't quite place, but when she looked at the pilot that Blake had brought back with her lounging in the chair, the feeling intensified. Something just told her to wait, that the correct choice would present itself shortly. And that when it did, it would be immediately be clear.

"The final option," Glynda sighed, stopping in the middle of the room with her back to Blake, "is by far the most dangerous. It is one that I never wish on the children I protect, but one that I cannot deny them. Having lived the life, I cannot deny them the same chance that I had. I can't deny them the experiences I have had. I cannot deny you the life of a huntress."

At the mention of the word 'huntress', both Velvet's and Blake's ears perked up, clearly visible even through Blake's bow. The two of them locked eyes momentarily before simultaneously looking at their headmistress, suddenly infinitely more interested in what she had to say. The word resonated within both of them, reaching a deeper part of there being. It was a word that had great meaning to both of them, even if one of them hadn't truly heard it before this day.

"If you chose this final path, you will be faced with countless hardships. You will face the darkness head on, sometimes alone, sometimes in a team, but always on the front line. Thousands of lives will almost always rely on you, be it the lives of fellow hunters, the hunter support, or regular citizens that don't even realize you fight for them. You will be the light that stands against the darkness, but you will be one that no one ever knows about. A singular beacon for the lost traveler, ensuring that they reach home safely. You will never receive the recognition you deserve outside of the Hunter corps, and you will rarely receive thanks for the countless lives you save."

Glynda allowed herself to glance at both Blake and Velvet, wondering if she should continue. But she looked in their eyes, she was once again surprised. Each of them had a renewed look of determination and excitement, as if this is what they had been waiting for. Even if Blake had known all this beforehand, this was generally the time that others began to waver, unsure if they truly wanted this. But these two embraced every word she said, and were eager for more. With a small sigh, she continued.

"Should you chose this path, you will be assigned to a full-fledged hunter, someone who has gone through the training already, and has experienced the galaxy. Normally, before doing this, you would have to go through a rigorous selection process, and quite a bit of basic training, but instead, you will wait here for your hunter to arrive, completing basic training under me, most likely under the guise of punishment. Once they do arrive, you will become their apprentice, and you will follow them everywhere they go. They will train you, help you survive and guide you. You will spend nearly every day with them, eat with them, laugh with them, and quite possibly, die with them. But you will do it all as their equal. Despite the teacher-student standing, you will be their companion in this dark world, and that is something that will not be overlooked. Many hunters that have come up through this method have stayed with their mentor, working together as a team up until the time comes for them to take their own apprentice. And even then they may not part ways, instead opting to train this apprentice as a pair. Often times, the only thing that separates these pairs is the cold embrace of death. Whether this is a comfort or a hindrance is entirely up to you."

"Together, you will travel the universe, seeing things that many have never seen before, and fighting on planets you didn't know existed. You will make friends from across the galaxy, build relationships that never could have happened otherwise, and become a better person from the process. But despite all this, I can neither encourage nor discourage this choice. Despite what it might help you become, and how it might guide you into the future, it will still be the most dangerous option by far. But, despite that, this is the option I chose, and I don't have the right to push you away from it. Just know that any option you pick, even if it takes you across the galaxy, I will support you. No matter how far you travel, no matter what you have faced, no matter the rules of this orphanage, should you need a place to stay or words of advice, I will be here."

Silence finally settled over the room as the two Faunus processed what they had been told. There had been a time that they thought their only option was to live somewhere else on the planet, perhaps work a farm or manage a store. When Blake had learned otherwise, it had turned her world on its head. Now Velvet was being given the same realization. And both were expected to decide. And as Glynda had said earlier, they must make a decision now.

Without looking at each other, or even pondering what the other was thinking, they came up with their answer. At the same time, they spoke. And when they did, a grin spread across Ruby's lips, and she opened her eyes for the first time since Glynda had started telling the two their options.

In unison, they said, "I want to be a huntress."

* * *

Ozpin sat in his desk chair, looking through his monitor and out into space. The Beacon was his flagship, and in his opinion, his greatest achievement. A simple battleship, refitted with all the best technology the Hunters could give without giving away their existence. It had been a balancing act, always ensuring that at least one of the major powers of the universe had some semblance of the technology. If they got too advanced, the governments might have gotten suspicions of where it was coming from, and the Hunters might have been revealed.

And then there was the process of convincing the three nations to send their best and brightest to him, assuring them that his 'combat academy' will bring out their hidden potential. Of course, it had, but never in the ways that the galactic governments had expected. Warriors had been born from children, and from the warriors, came the Hunters.

Each student that come through his ship was screened by the best systems in the galaxy, and monitored by his watchful eye. These students were to become hunters, the defenders of the universe. Or rather, a select few were. Only those that showed true compassion for their comrades in arms, despite galactic allegiance, would be given such a chance. Most were simply trained to the best of their abilities and send back home.

Such a system was costly, especially when he had expanded it to include a fleet of similarly designed Academy-class ships, but it had birthed many a hero. But one of those heroes was currently missing.

Ms. Ruby Rose. Her name sat on his monitor, and he was trying his best not to look at it. The loss of the Signal had been devastating, and had killed hundreds of people, both hunters and not. If it hadn't been for the actions of Captain Xiao Long, the entire crew would have likely been lost. And the survivors would have never told the story of how Demon, the ace pilot instructor, had single-handedly taken out an entire flight of Grimm, only to have her engines give out and send her off to gods knows where.

But she wasn't dead. Ozpin knew this. In his mastery of his aura, he had become attuned to the flow of the universe, just like the Ozpin before him, and the one before her. And the flow hadn't changed. Not like it had the day that Ms. Rose made her decision. The day that she said, 'I want to be a huntress,' the flow of the galaxy had shifted drastically, almost as if it had been waiting for those words. Whether or not this was a shift for the better was yet to be seen, but Ozpin had his thoughts. And then there was the matter of her dreams…

Suddenly, before he could continue his line of thinking, he felt another shift. It wasn't as massive as when Ms. Rose made her decision, but it was enough to make him sink back into his chair. The course of the universe had shifted once more, but it was more than that. It was as if two new streams had merged with the greater one. It was nothing earth shattering, but for one as attuned to the flow as him, it was quite the event.

About 10 minutes later, the door behind him hissed open, and he heard the footsteps of a crewman approaching behind him. "Sir," the man said, snapping attention as he spoke. "We…"

"You will give her whatever she asks. I give my approval," Ozpin interrupted, catching the crewman off guard. A small smirk grew on his lips as Ozpin continued to ponder what this new shift could mean. It was an entirely new experience for him, but when it came to Ms. Rose, everything was a new experience. And this shift had given him all the confirmation he had needed.

She was alive. She was out there. And she was changing the fate of the universe.

* * *

"Called it."

"Ms. Rose, please be serious! This is a major decision!"

"And I knew which one they were going to pick from the moment you started speaking. Glynda, you may have raised them, and you may have walked in their shoes, but these two are special. Can you feel it?"

Glynda hesitated before she responded, turning to the younger huntress with disbelief in her eyes. "You mean…?"

"Yes," Ruby replied finally sitting up and looking serious. "And he knows it too. So I need to send a message. I'm sure that you have a transmitter somewhere around here, right?"

Glynda nodded before walking behind her desk. She reached for one of the drawer handles, but instead of pulling it, she twisted it to the side, and yanked up. And when she did, her entire desk rose, electromagnets lifting it off the ground and giving it room to project the holo-computer that was hidden inside.

"Fantastic. So can you…" Ruby started before Glynda cut her off.

"Before we go any further, I need to know that you two are sure about his. Because this decision will change the course of your lives. And it isn't a decision that can be made lightly."

Blake was silent for a moment, standing up straight and looking out through the window, looking at the town that raised her. But when she opened her mouth to speak, Velvet beat her to the punch.

"This orphanage is the reason I'm alive today," the rabbit Faunus started. "And it is here, because the children need it. They need a place to go, should their loved ones not be able to care for them. And it is the hunters that ensure that no matter what happens, they will have someone that loves them. That's why you're here, isn't it Ms. Goodwitch?" Velvet paused momentarily, looking at the headmistress. Upon seeing the older woman nod in confirmation, Velvet grinned and continued. "So I want to be the force that ensure it isn't needed. I want to be the one who makes sure that that child's parents make it home that night. I want to become the force that keeps one more family together. I want to be able to do for others, what my parents tried to do for me. If I have the chance to do that, I see no other way."

"It's like she said," Blake started, not turning away from the window. "This is our home. It's the reason that we have a chance in this world, as opposed to starving somewhere we don't understand. But just because it's home, doesn't mean that it's all there is. For years, I have laid out on that lawn, staring at the stars and wondering what is out there. I've always heard the phrase 'the grass is always greener.' Well, I wanted to go see that grass. I wanted to see what is on the other side of that hill. I wanted to see the galaxy. And then I found it. The story of the hunters, left to me by my parents. And it opened my eyes. It told me of how they traveled to distant worlds, fighting for others and doing what is right. It told me of their fight against the darkness, and the never ending battle between good and evil. And just like a fairy tale, I fell in love. And after hearing this, it only cemented my feelings. This is what I need to do. This is how I will see the universe, and do good while doing it. This is what I was meant to do."

Glynda was silent for a moment, looking at both figures standing before her. Velvet's eyes shone with determination, and while Blake had yet to turn around, Glynda could feel the waves of energy emanating from her. This is what they both wanted, and there was nothing that would change that. Glancing at Ruby, she nodded, earning a smile from the brunette.

"In that case, let's get started," Ruby chuckled. "Glynda, could you send a message to Ozpin? Ask him to send Coco here with two shipments of dust and prototype 13-UN?"

"Ms. Rose, while I appreciate it, I doubt it will be that easy. Ozpin has a very strict system for pairing hunters together, and I doubt that… Wait, did you say prototype 13-UN? The one you designed?"

"Yep. Velvet's gonna need a weapon, isn't she? And from what I can tell, she will be 13-UN's best fit. That's what one of the dust shipments is for."

"Then why specifically Coco?" Glynda asked. But despite the doubt in her voice, she was already entering Ruby's request into the computer.

"Coco needs an apprentice. I believe the council has been pressuring her as well. And with the desires that Velvet expressed, I think they would be a perfect match."

"Fine," Glynda conceded, tapping on the virtual keys. But just as she was about to hit send, she paused, and glanced back at Ruby. "But what about Ms. Belladonna? Who will train her? Coco can't train both of them."

"No, she can't," Ruby agreed. "But she won't need to. Because I will."

* * *

 **And thus it continues.**

 **I really don't have much to say this time. Chapter done. Hope you enjoyed it.**

 **Oh, I guess there is this. I will be joining a few other authors on a podcast in the next couple of weeks. I'll put details on my profile as they come up, but if you have a twitter, follow Legion_205. Its run by a writer from the site that will be putting them up, and he will probably be the best one to look at for details. And if you haven't yet, check out Room 205 on NobleMETA's profile. I will be on the podcast with people from that story, and it should be interesting to say the least.**

 **Welp, now its time to go write Fang's Embrace. Until next time!**

 **Now, courtesy of GhostPhoenix113:**

 **What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft? A Miner, B-flat.**


	6. The Pirate

"Yang."

"Yes, Weiss?"

"I must have hit my head at some point there. For some reason, I thought you just invited pirates on-board your ship."

"Yeah, and…?"

Weiss was at a total loss for words. She could only stare as Yang continued to tap away at the console before her, only pausing occasionally to flip through the multiple virtual monitors hovering around her.

"Well, if you're just gonna stare, let's move on. I need a digital handprint from you," Yang continued as a small panel shot out of the control board before them. "Put your hand on that, if you would. Careful, might sting."

Almost subconsciously, Weiss complied, lightly laying her hand on the black panel. Mentally, she was running laps, trying to figure out what she was going to do. She had apparently boarded the ship of a psychopath who was willing to let anyone on board with nothing more than a few kind words and a smile. As they were now in the depths of space, currently drifting further and further away from Ziben, her last possible safe haven. She didn't even know what system they were technically in now, or which direction she would need to go to avoid bounty hunters. Federation space would be best, but…

A jolt ran through her as the small panel sparked, causing Weiss to yelp in pain and yank her hand back. "Told ya," Yang said nonchalantly, continuing to type away at the virtual keyboard. "Helps if you listen to people's warnings, Princess. Makes life easier in the end."

"Don't you dare start to lecture me, Yang … Yang…" Weiss trailed off, a realization crossing her mind.

"Something wrong there, Snow Angel?"

"It's just occurring to me what a bad idea this was… You know about me, but I don't even know your full name, let alone who you are, and I just boarded a ship with you based solely on my desperation to escape and assumptions about my sister, who you apparently don't even know…" Weiss sunk into her seat, hoping that maybe she would wake up shortly and realize that the whole ordeal was just a strange nightmare.

"Pfffft… this again? I thought we were past the trust thing by now… oh well," Yang said with a wave of her arm. "Name's Yang Xiao Long: Escort, bodyguard, and all-around badass. This ship is my baby, and Bumblebee is its younger sister. Friend to many, enemy to few, because my enemies tend to have a high mortality rate. And you boarded my ship because there wasn't much in the way of options, and apparently my old boss made a promise to try and keep you safe."

"And for some reason, you include bringing pirates onto your ship as keeping me safe…"

"Oh, that reminds me," Yang said as she turned to yet another floating monitor that displayed a small transport craft touching down in one of the cargo holds. Tapping a few more keys, Yang spoke, and Weiss could only assume that her voice was projected into the cargo hold. "Ren, I suggest that your men stay on the ship. You and Nora should be fine if you step off, but anyone else might trigger security, and I would really rather not have to clean blood out of my hold. I'll be down as soon as I finish something up here."

As if to reply, a signal light on the transport craft flashed twice, and the engines were cut. Weiss only stared at the monitor in amazement as she realized the pirates weren't only listening, they were complying without hesitation. She was sure that was because apparently two of their leaders were on board, but what had Yang done to earn such trust from the most feared raiding human force in the galaxy?

A ding from the computer system brought Weiss's attention back around to the monitors that were now springing up around her. Quickly, she read what she could, but what she was reading didn't quite make sense. As if to confirm, the computerized voice spoke once again, repeating what Weiss had just read.

"WELCOME ABOARD, MS. SCHNEE. YOU HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED AS SECOND IN COMMAND OF HUNTER CRAFT FIRESTORM. AS SUCH, YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN CLASS 4 CLEARANCE, ALLOWING TOTAL ACCESS TO ALL FACILITIES, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS. IN ADDITION, YOU WILL BE ASSIGNED OFFICER QUARTERS 1, BUNK 1. YOU ARE CURRENTLY THE ONLY INHABITANT OF THESE QUARTERS, AND DUE TO YOUR RANK AND CLEARANCE, THE ONLY ONE WITH ACCESS TO ENTER. ANY OTHERS MUST RECEIVE YOUR PERMISSION FIRST."

"…Yang?"

"You know, I feel like you saying my name in shock is becoming far too common of a trend."

"Well, forgive me for being shocked at being given total access to your ship, even to the point that you lock yourself out of one of the crew rooms. Just what do you hope to gain from this?"

"I don't gain anything. I'm just giving you a place to crash without having to worry about me. Just like how I have my room that you need permission to enter. Which, considering that we are on a ship floating through space, with nowhere else to go, sounds like a pretty good deal to me."

"Yang Xiao Long, are you implying that you will need to get away from me?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna regret telling you my full name, aren't I? Oh well, what's done is done. But I can finally give you that tour of the rest of the ship. Let's start with the cargo bays, and greet our guests."

* * *

"But Reeeeennn…"

"No, Nora."

"But I'm so bored…"

"You can wait for Yang to get here. With her security system, I would much rather she be here to make sure nothing goes wrong."

Weiss could hear the banter from the entrance of the cargo hold. Which was impressive, considering the hold felt like an empty warehouse, occupied only by a ship-to-ship shuttle. It was a Bullhead-class small troop transport, probably able to hold, at most, 10 people. Most people used them to transport VIPs between escort ships, or to send small shore parties onto stations. Of course, there were those select few that tried to use them as raiding ships, but considering the dual, semi-locked under-wing engines, they weren't likely to make it anywhere they weren't welcome.

Glancing around the hanger further, Weiss confirmed that it was, in fact, empty. There were no crates with trading goods, no machinery for loading or unloading cargo, and no sign of it being used in the past few months. It did, however, have a projected containment field, preventing the air from escaping into the open vacuum of space, and an unused workbench. The work space seemed to have an extensive array of tools for ship maintenance, some of which were far more complex than Weiss had ever seen. Which would have been convenient for Weiss, had she seen her speeder here.

"Relax," Yang said softly, knowing what Weiss was looking for. "It's in the other hold. I just use this one as a hanger for guests since I usually keep it empty." She then turned to the transport and shouted, "Probably a good choice, Ren! You and Nora are fine, though. The computer recognizes you, I double-checked. So you ca..." She was cut off mid-sentence as an energetic ginger hit her with a flying tackle, almost taking them both to the ground.

"YANG!" Nora shouted, forcing the blonde into a spinning hug, laughing as she tried to speak. "HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?!"

Yang, to her credit, simply grinned and allowed the spinning to continue while she answered the questions like nothing was wrong. "Hey Nora. I've been doing pretty good, all things given. I've been around. Visited a few frontier planets, traded on a few outpost stations, and had some good bar fights on traveler outposts. And it's been about a year, give or take a couple of months. What about you two? Still up to the usual tricks?"

Weiss could only stare at Yang as she rolled with everything the girl did, not even blinking when she was lifted off the ground to continue the spin. It was only now that Weiss noticed this girl was the same one from the hologram transmission, and was actually shorter than either her or Yang. But somehow, despite standing just about at Weiss's eye level, she still managed to just exude… something… that gave her the appearance of stature. Any further analysis, however, was then cut off by a new voice joining the fray.

"You could say that," Ren said calmly as he made his way down his transport's exit ramp. "We've had to move the base a few times, but everything is holding up pretty well. Jumped a Mistral-Atlas trade convoy a few months back, thanks to a new… recruit, I guess we can say. Made off with about 8 figures on that one. More than enough for our..." When he reached the bottom of the ramp, he finally noticed Weiss, trailing off briefly as he did, before finishing with, "distribution. And who might this be?"

"Oh," Yang said, finally breaking free of Nora's grasp and resting her arm on the ginger's shoulder, while at the same time gesturing in Weiss's direction. "This, is Weiss. I suppose you could say she is my newest travel companion."

"Ya banging?" Nora asked, giving Weiss a once over.

"Excuse me?!" Weiss questioned indignantly, glaring at the shorter girl.

"What?" Nora asked, working her way out from under Yang's arm and raising her hands. "Nothing wrong with it if you are. I'd do you. I'd do Yang too, honestly. But unfortunately for both of you," She said, walking over to Ren and latching onto his arm. "I'm taken."

"Forgive her," Ren said, noticing Weiss's icy glare and Yang covering her eyes with one hand. "Nora is honest with her thoughts," He explained, glancing down at his companion. "Almost to a fault."

"But beating around the bush is so BORING," Nora complained, leaning back to emphasize her point. "Just get the boring stuff over with so you can get to the good part!"

"And just what would that be?" Weiss asked, feigning curiosity.

"Punching or partying!"

This was met with hearty laughter from Yang, earning curious glances from Ren and Nora, and a glare from Weiss. "Nora, never change." Yang finished with a chuckle. "Let's move this over to the mess hall, I've got some drinks there."

"What about…" Ren started, gesturing to his transport.

"Oh, right!" Yang exclaimed, realizing her mistake. "How many on-board?"

"Six. They refused to let us go alone, and this was the smallest amount we could negotiate."

"Fair enough. Computer," Yang called out, receiving a tone in return. "Six individuals on-board the Bullhead class shuttle. All are to be granted Class D access. Any excess are to be shot as soon as they step foot off shuttle."

"CONFIRMED," the electronic voice called out in reply. "ALL INDIVIDUALS WITH CLASS D ACCESS WILL BE ALLOWED LIMITED ACCESS TO CARGO HOLD AND MESS HALL, WITH A THREE WARNING SYSTEM."

"Good enough?" Yang asked, glancing at Ren.

"Gods, that system scares me," Ren muttered, looking around for one of the many gun ports he was sure was there. "Yeah, that works. They should know better than to take anything or go anywhere they aren't allowed anyways. I warned them they would be safer if they stayed behind."

"You get used to it," Yang chuckled. "And don't worry about them. After the third warning, it starts with rubber bullets. They will learn pretty quickly then."

"You would think," Ren muttered, as he watched Nora skip over next to Weiss and start unloading a long stream of questions, not even giving the white-haired girl a second to breath, let alone answer.

* * *

"Wait, you're Thor?!"

The exclamation burst from Weiss rather unexpectedly. The four of them were gathered in the lounge at the end of the crew quarters. The other pirates hadn't been too pleased when they were left behind on the lower level, but a stern look from Ren had been more than enough to silence any complaints.

The lounge itself was a nicely furbished area. In one corner stood a fully stocked bar, everything held carefully in place by a specific gravity generator. Soft carpets covered the center of the lounge, which was adorned with two luxurious leather arm chairs and a matching couch. In the center, a small table rested, or rather, hovered. Kept afloat by something Weiss couldn't see, it hadn't seemed to buckle in the slightest when Nora had jumped up on it, shouting something Weiss couldn't quite make out. Something about roses. Weiss had been more focused on the far wall, opposite the bar. It looked like something that Weiss could only call an armory. The only issue was that it was empty. Countless empty slots for various weapons stood out on the wall, while the two walls straddling a workbench were covered with more tools than Weiss had ever seen. She could only guess what half of them were for, but the fact that there were so many tools, but no weapons, deeply confused her.

Now, they stood around the bar, sipping drinks of varying colors, catching up with each other, or in Weiss's case, learning something new every other sentence. So far, she had determined that these three had met 4 years ago, before parting ways for some reason Weiss had yet to determine, that Yang was the oldest, and apparently had a sister. But what had brought about Weiss' outburst was when Yang joked about the 'god of thunder descending on mere mortals.'

"Yep," Nora replied with a visible bounce, before narrowing her eyes. "Wait, you didn't know that? Aren't you…" She was cut off when Yang rested a hand on her forearm and shook her head. Nora's eyes widened a bit, before her bubbly attitude took over again. "That's so COOL! Does she even know?" Another shake of Yang's head. "GAAAAHHH… That's amazing!"

"What's amazing? And are you going to answer my question any more beyond 'yep?'"

"Oh, sorry," Nora laughed. "I've gotten in trouble for this before, so 'shhhhhh…'" She finished while pressing her finger to her lips. "But yeah, I'm 'Thor', or whatever it is people call me now. Ren's name is better though. People call him Kali."

"I thought it was Mulan?" Yang cut in, sipping from her drink.

"That hasn't stuck. No one is even sure where it came from, but it seems to come up every few months." Ren sighed, putting his drink down. "But I think Weiss doesn't really care what we are called. I believe the part that she cares about is how we are the founding leaders of the Lotus Pirates."

All eyes turned on Weiss, while she in turn stared at Yang. "There is that, but I'm more interested in how Yang apparently became such good friends with two of the most feared pirates in the known galaxy."

Rather than answer, Yang took another sip of her drink, looking at anything besides Weiss. Thankfully, Ren answered for her. "Through the course of our work, Yang's former employers actually contacted us, requesting mutual cooperation. It worked out well for both sides, so we accepted. That was when we first met Yang, and started to get to know her. For a few years, we had a few mutual jobs, with us usually just providing fire support where we could, and they would aid us in jobs they deemed worthy of their cause. However, last year one of our jobs went sideways, and we were ambushed by Mistralian mercenaries, hoping to cash in on our bounty and to gain some fame for it. When our crews requested help, however, the council that runs their operations deemed us expendable, and refused to send any support. That is, with the exception of one. Yang's boss, the one directly in command of her, told her of the situation before the council even met, knowing it wouldn't go his way." He gave Yang a look that could only be described as beyond thankful. "The mercs were prepared to execute us, and to make a show out of it. But the moment they got the cameras online, she burst through the door. A room filled with a half dozen heavily armed, angry mercenaries. They had the numbers, the fire power, hell, they even had the jump on her, because she wasn't exactly quiet on her way down. But they still didn't stand a chance. Twenty seconds after she burst through the door, six mercenaries lay in the center of the room, unconscious, beaten, and bleeding."

Nora picked up the story from there, surprisingly keeping the tone as serious as it had been before. "She then turned to the camera, walked straight up to the lens, with her hair still doing that whole fire thing. And when she was a foot away, she said in her scary voice, 'No one. Touches. Them.' Then she smashed the lens."

"We've made a number of friends over the years, but few of them can compare to Yang. There are only two others that can stand beside her. But Yang will always be special to us. After all, her actions cost her…"

"Ren…" Yang cut in, finally focusing back in on the conversation.

"I've come this far Yang, I'm sure she can guess what happened."

When Yang glanced at Weiss, the white-haired woman nodded. "You refused an order, didn't you?" Weiss guessed. "Your boss told you the situation, so you left immediately, but when they reached a decision and told you to come back, you refused."

The nod she received confirmed everything for Weiss. But it raised one more question. "But something doesn't make sense. I thought Yang worked for a… I don't know what to call it… VIP protection agency, but the way you talk makes it sound like a mercenary service."

Ren simply put his hands up at that one. "That's for Yang to tell you. We knew her for two-and-a-half years before we learned the truth."

This prompted Weiss to turn her gaze on Yang, who only shook her head. "That's a tale for another time. It would take far too long, and I've had a few too many of Nora's drinks to get into it now."

"You know how she likes to mix them," Ren said with a distinct lack of sympathy.

"Either way, let's move on," Yang finished with a wave of her hand. "What happened back then isn't that interesting."

"Very well, but I do have a question for you," Ren continued, sipping at his own drink. "I'm curious about how it came to be that Weiss Schnee is your new travel companion."

A loud clank sounded around the lounge as Weiss slammed her drink down on the bar, spilling a fair amount of the contents in the process. Instinctively, she reached for the blade that still rested at her hip as she moved away from Ren. She was stopped, however, by Yang's gentle hand pressing into the small of her back.

"Sharp as ever, I see," Yang commented, moving herself between Ren and Weiss. "I know that you won't be a problem, Ren, but I don't trust your men. I'm sure you understand."

"Of course," Ren replied, not even blinking at Weiss's aggressive posture or at Yang's protective action. "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, Yang. Even if that friend has an impressive bounty on her head. My men know, and will continue to know, nothing about her."

Yang relaxed, and with a small glance over her shoulder, nodded to Weiss. Slowly, Weiss relaxed the grip on her sword, but she never removed her hand from the hilt. "That's a pretty lax attitude for someone who founded the most bloodthirsty pirates in history," Weiss commented, running her eye over Ren once more.

"Really?" Ren questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I guess it all depends on who you ask. Seeing as you were raised in Atlas, I shouldn't be surprised by your limited knowledge. Mistral's Cardinals have a bloody history, what with their no survivor raids or their nasty tendency to crucify their victims. Or what about The Frosted Pirates based in Atlas? Sure, Atlas recognizes them as a legitimate mercenary group, but anyone else in the galaxy knows better. It would be hard to miss, what with their weekly raids on farming colonies who don't pay their 'protection' fee, their strange obsession with slavery, or their… less than savory treatment of those that catch their eye, if you know what I mean. While we, on the other hand, run differently. Our main targets are our aforementioned competitors, and the privateers Atlas and Mistral call mercenaries. Maybe a trade convoy here or there, but we make sure those don't turn bloody. Sometimes, you must doubt everything you hear. That's the only way to reach the truth."

"It's not like I had much of an option," Weiss retorted. "Being in hiding tends to limit your sources."

"Is that so?" Ren replied in his strangely calm demeanor. "Then how have I managed to find out so much about you? You said it yourself, I'm a dangerous pirate, wanted by the three major factions. I can't exactly openly walk down any city streets. But despite that, I know exactly who you are. Weiss Schnee, former heiress to the Schnee line, only recognized daughter of the current head of house - at least you are now that they have officially disowned your older sister. I doubt that you are much behind her, though, at the rate that you are going. Now three full squads have been destroyed in their hunt of you, but only one of them truly done in by you. As far as I understand, Yang took care of the last one, and that first only had one taken out by your sword. The other two apparently ran off, but they never reached their ship. Killed by upset colonists that weren't too pleased with the way they handled the situation. I know all this, and much more. Being in hiding doesn't mean you need to be helpless."

Weiss stood speechless as Ren's speech shifted from commentary to lecture. His voice was striking a chord in her heart, forcing her to re-evaluate her past 5 years on the run. But she refused to allow her mind to wander as Ren continued.

"Your situation wasn't one I envied, but I have seen far worse. I have lived through worse. But something I learned early, and that you must now learn, is to not let it control who you are. You haven't heard anything else, because you never looked for anything else. You allowed Supreme Black to control everything you heard. I'm sure he only meant well, that kind of man always does, but he only hurt you in this way. If you need to know the truth, you need to find it yourself."

"Supreme…?" Weiss started, caught off guard by the way Ren described her benefactor.

"Former Council Supreme Black," Ren elaborated, noticing the confusion etched across Weiss's face. "One of the only men that could protect you from the Schnee Family, but the only one that stepped up to do so. One of the greatest leaders the Vytal Federation has ever seen, and the only one to step down from the position voluntarily after personally witnessing the corruption that comes with power. His action saved the Federation, as the council was exposed for their corruption and removed from power, rather forcefully. Quite honestly, I'm most impressed that he managed to hide this from you over all else.

"I had no idea…" Weiss muttered, staring at the drink before her, some of it glistening at her from the counter.

"Just as he intended," Ren shrugged. "But he has already done his duty. He protected you for as long as he could, and now it is your turn. So what do you intend to do?"

At this question, Weiss, looked up, and noticed that not only Ren, but also Yang and Nora were not staring at her. "I… I need to find my sister."

"And where will that get you?" Ren asked, rather coldly. "That will just make it easier for them to find both of you. Not that you could find her in the first place. Winter Schnee is a ghost, going where she pleases, and disrupting the system where she can. She has liberated more slaves and 'redistributed' more wealth than I could ever hope to do alone. And it's all because she has a plan. She has a goal. Something greater than her. Something that is more than what will make her feel better. Are you really going to take that image, and toss it aside in the hopes of finding something comforting?"

"I… I…" Weiss stuttered. No one had spoken so bluntly to her before. Not many dared. But something about what Ren said, and the way he said it, struck home. He was right. Winter had gone off to make a difference, and vanished from the public eye. As Weiss was now, she wouldn't be able to find her. And if what Ren said was true, Weiss would only get in the way. She would only endanger all that Winter had worked for.

"She has what you need. A goal. Something to truly work towards. Something greater than just a reunion. Something that can change the flow of the universe. I'm sure you have one. You just need to find what it is. And when you do, work towards it. Make it your life's work. Make it the thing that matters most to you. When you do that, maybe then, your paths will cross, and your dream of reunion just might become true."

As he finished speaking, Ren rose, with Nora instantly following suit. "It was good to see you again, Yang," he said with a smile. "I never thought that a distress signal could lead to such a reunion."

"Funny how things work," Yang replied, matching his smile. "You take care of yourselves. I would hate for the next one to be the last."

* * *

"Weiss, funny thing about coffee: staring at it does not make it stay warm. Kinda the opposite, actually."

"Shut up, Yang," Weiss mumbled as she continued to stare at the steam rising up from the coffee's surface. They were currently sitting in the cockpit, Weiss with her coffee cupped in her hands, and Yang leaning back in the seat as far as it would go, hands laced behind her head.

"I told ya you should take it easy. Nora does not hold back on those drinks, even if you can't really taste it."

"That's not it," Weiss sighed. "I just don't need you taking everything I do and making it into a joke."

"Maybe I'm just trying to get a smile out of you, Ice Queen. What's the point of life if you can't have a laugh from time to time?" Yang sat forward as she spoke, turning in the seat to face Weiss. "What, you still have what Ren said on your mind?"

Weiss just nodded, still staring into her cup. "He knows her. Or at least of her."

Yang raised an eyebrow at this, but didn't interrupt, assuming it would become clear sooner or later as Weiss continued to speak. "For years, I looked for her, trying to find her, to ask her what I should do, but I never once came close. I never even heard whispers of her. But he knows her." Finally, Weiss looked up from her coffee and into Yang's eyes. "And so did your boss."

Yang just blinked, it finally clicking that Weiss was speaking of the person that gave her boss that phrase. Yang could only assume that that was Weiss' sister Ren had mentioned the other night. But now the question was, how did her boss meet this supposed Winter Schnee? And what had lead to his promise of protecting Weiss? But she didn't voice any of these concerns, opting instead to let Weiss work through her own thoughts.

"She never would have told your boss that phrase if she didn't trust him implicitly. And he, in turn, trusted you." Weiss slightly trailed off, allowing her eyes to wander out to the vast space before her.

"And that means…?" Yang finally prodded, though she had an idea of what Weiss was getting at.

"That means I have no reason not to trust you." Weiss replied, taking the first sip of her coffee since the conversation began.

At hearing this, Yang couldn't help but smile. Spinning in the chair, Yang leaned back once more and placed her hands behind her head. "Well, that took long enough. Better late than never. But now that we're finally here, that opens up a world of possibilities. Or, to be exact," Yang paused to gesture out into the space through the thick interstellar glass, "a galaxy."

Weiss tried, she really did. But somehow, a small smile managed to sneak its way onto her lips. Giving Yang a sideways glance, she replied, "I'm not sure, this is a new experience. I'm used to being a fugitive, but not one with a plan. I don't even know where to start."

"We start right here," Yang said confidently. "In…" She then trailed off to glance at the computer readout before her. "Quadrant 3 of Federation space, Star coordinates 3.49.-134.82."

Weiss rolled her eyes before taking another sip of her coffee. "Good enough for me, I suppose. Although, I do have one more question."

"Fire away, Princess."

"Just who is your old boss? What exactly did you used to do?"

The air in the cockpit seemed to thicken, and Yang's cheery attitude faded away. Slowly, she sat up, and rested her arms on her legs. She was quiet for quite a few moments. When she finally spoke, she did so with a smile, but one that lacked any cheer.

"Let me ask you a question first, Weiss. What would you say is your favorite fairy tale?"

* * *

Ren closed and rubbed his eyes, as countless thoughts flew through his mind. He had been in his cabin for some time, seated before a personal terminal. Nora had long ago fallen asleep almost immediately after returning from Yang's ship, but he had one major piece of work to finish before he followed suit.

If he didn't do this, he was sure it could come back to haunt him.

Then again, doing it might come back to haunt him.

The screen before him flashed to life as a call finally connected. The person on screen seemed very tired, and very annoyed.

"This had better be important," They said simply.

"Trust me, it is," Ren replied. "You won't believe who I just ran into."

* * *

 **Damn, this took far too long on my part. I can't justify this at all. Finals were hell, and hell week was Satan's armpit, but still, this took way to long. Sorry about that guys.**

 **But hey! I'm not dead! And neither are my stories! I would do a longer author's note, but I really need to go write the next chapter of Fang's Embrace. Like, right now! Hope you enjoyed, let me know what you think, and I will see you all next time!**

 **Spiders are the only web-developers that love it when they find bugs.**


	7. The Training

Air.

It covers planets. It allows life. It is, without a doubt, the single most important thing in life.

And right now, Blake could not get enough of it.

"How… far… was that?" Blake panted as she leaned her shoulder against one of many trees. The sound of beating wings competed against Blake's panting as a bird fled the exhausted cat faunus. Off through the trees, streams of fog danced on the edge of their vision. This same fog was one of the few boons of the early morning, the cool air condensing droplets on Blake's skin.

"You really don't want to know," Velvet replied uneasily as she carefully readjusted her position on Blake's back.

"Vel… come on…" Blake begged as she struggled to catch her breath. "I've been carrying you… for this long… at least... let me know… how much more… I have to go."

"Alright," Velvet conceded. "You're just over half way."

"Are you serious?" Blake moaned. "Why the hell… do I need to carry you… 8 miles today?"

"How should I know?" Velvet replied. "Glynda has been running training for the past two weeks. I was just as surprised when Ruby woke us up to send us on a run. Honestly, this is the first time I've actually seen her for the past week."

"She's… been working… on that ship. What I want to know… is why… do you get to take it easy right now?" Blake managed with one final gulp of air.

"Again, how should I know? All I really know is that I didn't like that evil glint in Ruby's eye when she said she was looking forward to our return."

"So I wasn't the only one that saw that," Blake muttered. "That can't mean anything good."

"I'm actually terrified about what she has planned for me. If she is giving me the morning off, what kind of hell does she have waiting for me?"

"I don't have the energy to think that far ahead…" Blake sighed, before starting off again at a steady pace.

Velvet hunkered down on Blake's back, trying to ease Blake's burden. Not that it was really possible. Each step Blake took jostled her position, throwing her in some direction that Blake barely compensated for. Already, they had almost fallen a number of times. A stray root could spell disaster for them, or even just a pebble just out of place. Yet somehow, Blake had managed to remain upright thus far, and she showed no signs of giving up, despite the sweat that drenched her body.

There was once a time when Blake would run to the forest at every chance she could get, and occasionally drag Velvet along. She thought these woods would always be a place of comfort, and that there would never come a day where she would wish she could hurry up and drag that same friend right out.

"I can't help but wonder if this is just the beginning," Velvet pondered, shaking Blake from her thoughts.

A grunt in response was all Blake could manage. But from the way her shoulders sagged a bit, Velvet knew she felt the same.

"I mean, all we have done is strength and endurance training. We start each day with a run through the forest, followed by body weight exercises until the little ones wake up. This is the first time we've done anything weighted, even if it is just you carrying me."

Another grunt.

"I know, I know. Over these two weeks I've put on 5 pounds. I would think it's all the food we've been eating if it wasn't for the fact that Glynda has been pushing us so much. That, and considering how, for the first time I can remember, I'm getting a six-pack."

Grunt.

"Oh don't give me that, Ms. 'I've been training in secret.' I never planned for this. You know, it would have been nice if you had told me about the Hunters. I always assumed we would just go off on our on when we graduated, exploring the galaxy."

Blake's grunt turned to a chuckle at this.

"Yeah, I suppose that is exactly what we will be doing. I just thought we would be doing it, I don't know, together."

Back to a grunt.

"You know, just once, you can show an emotion here. It doesn't make you weaker."

Blake slowed her pace, gradually coming to a stop as she gathered her breath. Once she had her breathing under control, she leaned her head back, resting her head against Velvet's. "Vel, you will always be my sister. There is no one on the planet I would rather have by my side, or on my back. And I can't tell you how thrilled I am that we're doing this together. But just because we'll go our separate ways now, doesn't mean this is it. I'm going to become a hunter, and when I do, I'm going to find you. And when I do, the universe isn't going to know what hit it."

Now it was Velvet's turn to simply hum in response. Accepting this as an answer, Blake started off again with a sigh, hoping to finish out this training before the sun cleared the horizon in the distance.

* * *

The sound of laughter echoed through the orphanage. Normally, this wouldn't be strange, considering the number of young children that called the old building their home. Generally, the kitchen would become a small playground, with Glynda unable to shoo all the children out the back door or into the neighboring main room. She would consider herself lucky if all they were doing was hanging from the stair railing or the loft looking over the entrance. However, considering the sun had yet to rise, the noise seemed out of place in that very same empty main room.

"Shhhhhh…" Ruby hushed the child. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek as she looked over her shoulder to look at the child.

"Sorry…" Came a tiny hushed response. Currently, a young boy was seated on Ruby's back, his head bobbing with her motion as she completed her morning routine. Right now, her feet were up on the nearest chair as she completed her third set of decline push-ups. Earlier, it had been hanging crunches off the balcony overlooking the entrance. Before that, pull-ups with alternating arms. She had started even before she had woken up Blake and Velvet, and intended to keep going until they returned.

The small orphan boy had found her mid-dip as we was suspended between two chairs, and decided that was a perfect moment to jump into 'Ms. Ruby's' lap. Apparently, woken up early by the sound of an older child's snores, the young boy had decided to wander rather than go back to sleep. And what he found was apparently the greatest thing he had ever experienced. At least, that's how it seemed to Ruby from the way he was laughing.

"You can count so high!" he exclaimed in a tone that was gradually getting louder. "Like, I thought I could count good, but you went to forever!"

"Not quite," Ruby chuckled. "Tell you what, I'll count with you, but you need to quiet down. We don't want to go waking you're brothers and sisters."

"I don't have any of those though…" the child replied, lowering his voice at Ruby's request.

"What about everyone upstairs?"

"Those are just my friends. None of us have mommies or daddies, so we live here with Ms. Goodwitch."

"So?"

"So?" The child squinted at Ruby, clearly confused.

"Just because you aren't related, doesn't mean you aren't family. You can call them your brothers and sisters. No one is going to stop you."

"But what about Tammy and Sarah? They really are sisters."

"Brothers and sisters are who you want them to be. Look at Blake and Velvet. They aren't sisters like Tammy and Sarah, but has that stopped them, has it?"

"No…" the boy agreed hesitantly, slowly climbing off Ruby.

"Well then why, should it stop you?" Ruby chuckled as she pushed herself into a sitting position. She reached out and ruffled the young boys hair, finishing her short lecture with "Family is only what you make of it. Why limit those you love?"

"Well said Ms. Rose," Glynda Goodwitch called out as she descended the stairs. "But, while I do appreciate you teaching the young ones such important lessons, might I ask why you are keeping young Jay up at this ungodly hour?"

"Ungodly? Glynda, it's 5:30."

"And he should be asleep. Come on Jay, I'll tuck you back in."

"Awwwwww. But I wanted to keep playing! She's so strong! She was able to do a whole pull up with me on her shoulders!"

"A whole pull up? Is that right? Well, you'll have to ask her to play with you later. You need to sleep, and I need to talk with her."

"Uhhhhhhhh," Jay groaned, even as he followed Glynda's directions as she lead him up the stairs. Ruby watched them go before returning to her workout, entering a plank position, with her legs straight out behind her while she rested on her elbows, her forearms perfectly perpendicular to each other. With a moment's thought, a soft red glow encompassed her. As she settled into position, she decided to continue this workout until Glynda's return.

When the headmistress finally did return, it was nearly 15 minutes later, and beads of sweat dotted Ruby's forehead as she stared at her hands beneath her. Her core burned, but she wasn't about to give up. Her shoulders were quaking, her legs shivering, and her abs painfully twitching. Glynda saw what Ruby was doing, and stopped on the bottom step, watching Ruby struggle against her own weight.

Upon hearing the footsteps stop, Ruby glanced over her shoulder at Glynda before groaning. "Now that's just not fair."

"What isn't?" Glynda asked in all seriousness, taking the final step off the stairs, causing Ruby to collapse with a moan of relief.

"Aura-weighted core holds is not something that gets easier the longer you go at it. Particularly when the person you're timing yourself on take's their sweet time."

"Children are more complex that you seem to believe, Ms. Rose. Especially when it comes to bedtime." Glynda replied with a light smile, moving into the kitchen. Ruby could almost hear the grim as Glynda continued, "Come, I'll make you some tea. I believe this is the first time I've seen you up this early."

"Haven't slept," Ruby said with a shrug. "It's one of those nights."

Glynda hesitated for a moment, but continued grabbing the tea bags. After a few moments of silence, she asked a question that had been weighing on her mind. "How much do you see?"

"Hmm?" Ruby hummed back, focusing more on stretching her muscles before they tightened up again.

"Ozpin told me quite a bit about you. About how you seem to be attuned to that force. How you have knowledge not fitting someone your age. And above all else, about those dreams."

"As I expected he would," Ruby replied, continuing to stretch.

As the water began to boil, Glynda pondered how to say what she meant, in a manner that wouldn't push Ruby away. In the end, she decided to say "But what he told me cannot compare to what I've seen here. Ruby, you carry yourself as someone far older. If I hadn't been by Ozpin's side the day you were born, I might not believe you to be eighteen."

"So I've been told."

"Ms. Rose, why did you not sleep last night?"

Ruby just shrugged, walking into the kitchen while stretching her upper body. "Like I said, it was going to be a bad night."

"But how could you know that?" Glynda pressed, trying to look Ruby in the eyes.

"Let's call it experience," Ruby replied, a note of finality in her tone of voice.

Glynda sighed, knowing full well she wouldn't get anything more out of the young huntress. She had inherited the combined stubbornness of both her mother and her father. She poured the hot tea into the mugs, taking one in each hand before turning to give Ruby one last piece of advice. "Ms. Rose, just remember that sometimes, too much knowledge can become a dangerous burden to bear."

Ruby sighed, stopping her stretches and taking the cup of tea from Glynda. "I know Glynda. Gods, do I know." She took a small sip of the hot drink before looking Glynda in the eyes. "For as long as I can remember, I've had these dreams. They come each night, without fail. And each time, they leave a little something behind. Sometimes it's an idea. Sometimes it's a feeling. And sometimes it's a pain. After a while, you start to notice a pattern. I simply knew that tonight would be one of those nights."

Silence settled over them as steam spiralled out from the tea cups. Ruby was clearly done saying what she was going to say, but Glynda wasn't sure how to proceed. She still had countless questions, but she knew that most of them had no answer. In the end, Glynda decided to ask a question that had been eating at her for weeks now.

"Why Blake?"

"What about Blake?"

"You were right about the council pressing Coco to take on a trainee. It's been that way for quite some time. But they have been pressing you even longer. The youngest huntress in recorded history, and one that has significant teaching experience aboard the Signal. The last three classes to graduate that ship where you acted as an assistant teacher have gone on to be some of the most respected pilots in this quadrant. And if what they say is true, it's all attributed to you. The council has been almost begging you to take on a trainee. Yet you always refused. So why do you now, seemingly out of nowhere, volunteer to take on a huntress-in-training?"

Ruby sipped at her tea before setting it on the nearby counter. Leaning back against the counter, she looked out of the kitchen and back into the living room. Without turning back to Glynda, she sighed and replied. "Because it was what felt right."

"Surely that can't be all there is to it?" Glynda pressed. She simply stared at the back of Ruby's head, as if trying to will the younger woman to answer.

"It really is," Ruby said with a shrug. "But not in the way you're thinking." It was now that Ruby turned back to face Glynda, an almost sad glint in her eye. "Glynda, you know I'm attuned to the flow. The same one Ozpin follows. The same one that guides the Hunters to doing the right thing. But what you don't know is how strong that current is. And how foolish it is to go against it."

When Glynda remained silent, Ruby took that as a sign to continue. "My first mission as a huntress. Do you remember it? It was a simple recon of a slaver ship. I was to sneak aboard with the next batch of slaves, contact an onboard informant, then take actions to free the slaves from the inside. After that, I would use my aura to signal a hunter fleet just outside sensor range. They would do the heavy lifting to get us out. All we had to do was cause distractions and minor sabotage. I was chosen by the council because of my aptitude for hand-to-hand combat and my engineering skills."

"I remember," Glynda replied. "They told you it was an honor to be given such a mission so young."

"Do you also remember that both Ozpin and I were opposed? We both knew something was wrong. That this wasn't with the flow. That the only reason it happened was because of a completely unanimous vote. They wanted to show Ozpin they had power to make their own decisions."

"As they always have," Glynda sighed.

"Except this time they went too far," Ruby growled, her fist coming down on the counter hard enough to shake it. "I was ambushed before the operation even started, exposed by a bad drop, tortured for weeks, and scheduled to die. They planned on making me an example for the slaves, that that was their life from then on. Until the current changed. I felt the shift coming. If the current is truly a river, then we struck rapids. The hunters in orbit detected my aura as I healed from a round of interrogation and took that as the signal to go. But when the attack started, no one was ready. There were no slaves staging a revolt. There was no weakened crew. Instead, there was a dozen broadside cannons staring down a handful of transport ships."

"Oh…" Glynda said softly, the outcome of the mission coming back to her.

Ruby closed her eyes and lowered her head. "35 Hunters. 142 Supporters. 19 pilots. And 387 slaves. All in all, 583 people died because of what happened. The slave ship was destroyed completely, almost half of its crew vented to space, a majority of the slaves either joining them or perishing in the flames, and only 83 people getting off the ship alive."

"Ruby…"

Tears began to gather at the corners of Ruby's eyes, but her voice never faltered. The anger that had come into her voice earlier had leveled back out, and was now replaced with a cold, almost unfeeling tone. "There was a time that I knew the name of every one of those hunters. I blamed myself for the longest time. Then I blamed the pilots that exposed me during the drop. But now, I blame the council for not listening. Ozpin and I both knew that something would go wrong. We didn't know what, or how, only that something was. And when I was given an order, I ignored that feeling, telling myself it was part of the job. Turns out it was right, and they were wrong." Ruby's words never regained the warmth they had held before. If one would have guessed, they never would have assumed that his young woman had been easily chatting with a child no more than 20 minutes before.

"That's why you only take jobs from Ozpin," Glynda concluded, her eyes locked on the brunette.

Ruby finally lifted her head and turned around to meet Glynda's gaze, locking her cold eyes with the older blonde. "That's why I refuse to work for the council. I work for Ozpin because he has a heart. He hasn't lost himself in the power of being a Hunter Elite. After all, he told me and Yang about… that," she finished with a shrug.

"But what about the Signal?" Glynda asked, a thought occurring to her. "How come the flow didn't warn you about that?"

Blinking a few times, Ruby fought back any noticeable reaction at the mention of her former home. With a straight face, she replied, "The flow is not merciful. It takes its chosen, informs them of the world, and warns them when they are about to make a mistake. It cares not how those caught up in it feels. If disaster is about to strike, but there is nothing I can do, it sees no need to let me know. Even if I could stop it with a single warning call, if that goes against the flow, I receive no warning. What happened to the Signal, in the eyes of the current, was what was meant to be."

The sound of a sonic boom echoed through the home, causing both Ruby and Glynda to look away from the other. At that moment, Ruby turned and walked out of the kitchen, only pausing to look over her shoulder and call, "Coco is arriving, I'll greet her first. When the girls get back, tell them to switch and go again."

* * *

Ruby almost got there in time.

She could see the path Coco's ship had taken as it entered the lower atmosphere. The tail-stream of her planetary thrusters glowed in the early morning light. She had come down just outside of the settlement, a 15 minute walk from the orphanage.

Unfortunately for Coco, that was only a 5 minute run from a certain farmhouse.

Once Ruby realized where Coco had landed, she realized exactly what was about to happen. She allowed the warm, red glow to embrace her as she took off in a flash of petals. She shot out across farmland, flying past livestock and crops alike as she came up on the small smoldering patch when Coco had touched down. Already she could hear yelling.

"I told you, I'd pay for the damn crops!"

"Yeah, right! You're just like that little red girl! You come in here, thinking you can do as you like, and then people will just go along with whatever you say! I want you gone, NOW!"

"I'm not going anywhere! This is the only safe place to land for 25 km! Now stop pointing that damn peashooter at me!"

"I'll show you peashooter!"

The sounds of an energy burst reached Ruby's ears just before a grunt and a thud. Sighing internally, she pushed herself a little harder, already thinking about what to say. The scene she arrived to was exactly as she imagined.

"Now that wasn't very smart, was it?"

"STOP, you're breaking my arm!"

"No I'm not, don't be dramatic."

Coco Adel stood near the edge of a circle of burned crops, originating from the dropship she had arrived on. It was a simple design: a cockpit large enough for a pilot and gunner, two wings extending from the top, integrated jet turbines , and a central cargo bay, lined with seats where troops would normally sit and prepare for battle before they air dropped out the back. A single powerful rocket engine sat in the back, directly over the cargo hatch, with small rocket ports popping out of various places on the ship to allow for 3-dimensional travel in the vacuum of space. It was a ship built specifically for ground invasions, its armored bottom able to withstand the heat of a planetary entry and basic anti-air fire.

But what captured Ruby's attention was the man pinned to the ground by Coco. It was the same one that Ruby had met, and almost killed, on her first day here. The one who had aimed one of his rifles at her new partner's head. Coco had his arm pinned behind his back, held in place by her foot as she stood on him, looking over the field. And to her side, a broken energy rifle rested, small metal components strewn around it where it seemed Coco had snapped it over her knee.

The man on the ground noticed Ruby first, and immediately began to call out to her, despite their history. Either he didn't recognize her, or at this point, he didn't care.

"You there! Help me, this madwoman landed in my field, destroyed my crops and attacked me for no reason!"

"What do you mean no reason?" Coco started, trying to see who the man was talking to.

"Yeah, because I'm going to take you at your word," Ruby replied, walking up to the two. "I heard everything that happened, so don't even try."

"I should have known you would be one of the first on site," Coco said with a grin. "Good to see you again, Red."

"Same to you Coco," Ruby chuckled. "But I doubt our friend here feels the same." She then knelt next to the struggling man, who recognized her for the first time.

"You again. I should have known," he growled, before yelping as Coco pressed her heel into his back.

"Look," Ruby said, already exhausted from dealing with him. "I don't wanna deal with you, and you don't want to bother me. So just go back home, and pretend this ship isn't out here. We'll pay you for the damn crops, it's not like you lost more than a single crate."

A look flashed across the farmer's eyes, and he began to open his mouth only to be cut off again. "But," Ruby continued, a threatening tone creeping into her voice. "If anything happens to this ship, or if you decide to try and take out your inadequacies on someone else again, I'm gonna let my friend here," she said as she nodded to Coco, "and the headmistress both let you know what they think before I take my turn. Do you understand?"

Two terrified eyes stared back at her as the man froze up. He lost all words, and seemed to stop breathing. He remained unmoving until, ever so slowly, he nodded.

"Good," Ruby finished, standing up and giving Coco a nod. With a small smirk, Coco lifted her boot off of the man's back and stepped away, crossing her arms and giving him a glare. In moments, he was scrambling away, starting on all fours and falling once before he managed to stand upright and run home.

"Good riddance," Ruby muttered before turning to look at Coco. Coco was a hunter that graduated the same year as Ruby, but had followed a more conventional path, so she was a couple years older than Ruby. Despite graduating at the same time, and despite the amount of time they had spent in each other's company, the two girls followed two very different trains of thought. Ruby had always been a member of the 'traveling light' school of thought. Her go-to outfit had always been her modified flight suit, which had been stripped of useless additions to allow for the greatest mobility and modified to cooperate with her martial arts techniques and her speed.

Coco, on the other hand, saw no reason to hold back on the armor. As a base, she wore a light brown turtle-neck, and tight black pants. Most people couldn't tell, but both of these articles of clothing were lined with a special hunter fiber, designed to withstand most attempts to stab or cut the wearer. Coco's had been designed to the point that her sweater could even stop a bullet should one penetrate her aura. The force would still strike the hunter, but it would stop most weapons from drawing the blood of the wearer, something vital in this line of work.

For most hunters, this would be enough. It was relaxed enough to allow them to fit into most civilian situation, but still offered protection should their aura fail, or in the case of supporters, they had yet to have their aura activated. Coco, however, needed more. On top of the turtle-neck, she wore a black jacket, lined with armor over the ribs, the arms, and the back, all designed in a plated pattern that allowed for somewhat comfortable movement. The jacket itself was lined with a gold fabric that conducted aura and helped strengthen the fabric even further.

On her hip rested a holster and pistol, quickly within reach, the harness wrapping around her leg. A thin golden chain rested on her opposite hip, atop a plated section. A golden aura conduit lined the plates as they wrapped around her leg. The plates carried an elastic property, seeming to fit right to Coco's figure, and jointing in the just the right place to allow for movement. Her boots looked strangely fancy for their owner's armored appearance, elevating her heels about three inches. But within was the same fabric the base pants were made up, as well as armor plates mixed in.

All in all, the outfit likely weighed about 50 pounds, but as an armor combined with aura, it out-classed even the most advanced armored combat suits provided by Atlas or Mistral. The key behind the armor's strength rests in the aura conduits, which direct and amplify all aura flows. The conduit, while expensive, effectively tripled the strength of general aura shielding, as well as firmed up any plate work directly in contact with it.

As an outfit, it came together surprisingly well, and that was before Coco began to accessorize. Each and every bit of it had been customized to match her appearance, be it the scarf wrapped around her neck, the dark glasses covering her eyes, the personalized handbag resting at her side, or the bullet belt wrapped over her shoulder and across her chest. The last addition tended to turn some heads, up until Coco deployed her weapon of choice. Most wouldn't expect such a woman to pack much of a punch, right up to the point where they were staring down one of the many barrels of her minigun.

That was just the way she had always been. When in hunter training, Coco had never been one to have many companions, as most were driven away by her initially aggressive personality. She had never been one to back away from a fight, and in the general hunter academies, they were encouraged. There is no better way to improve close combat proficiency that to experience close combat. Coco, however, after sending half her class to the infirmary, was one of the few to be barred from participating without specific permission. Ruby just so happened to be one of the others. To be fair to both of them, they were barred at the same time, and they weren't the ones to pick the fight. Coco stepped between Ruby and a crowd of bullies during one of Ruby's rare visits to a hunter schooling ship. What they saw was an easy target. What Coco saw was someone in need. And neither of them had known what Ruby was capable of. The fight had lasted nearly 20 minutes, and only ended when the ship's captain ran into one of their fleeing victims. It was because of this incident that Ruby became one of the few that had managed to get close to Coco.

"Judging by how quickly you got here, I'm assuming you got the same reception I did, didn't you, Rose?"

"More or less," Ruby shrugged. "I just had a few more guns in my face. I'm sure you'll hear the story; it's currently a favorite among the little ones."

"Is that right?" Coco said with a smirk. "Though I doubt you called me all the way out here to visit with some orphans. Besides, doesn't Goodwitch have everything under control here? That riding crop isn't just for intimidation."

"You'll see soon enough," Ruby smirked back. "For all you know, I just missed my sparring buddy."

"Yeah, well this time Port isn't here to pool bets."

"Where is the old man?" Ruby asked while seeming to look around Coco. "You two are generally always together."

"Hunter council gave him a mission. Recon and infiltration."

Ruby paused when she heard this, giving Coco a quizzical look. "I know, I know. According to him, it was his specialty before he went into teaching. Either way, you know that's not my thing, so we parted ways. I've been waiting on the Beacon for something to happen for the past couple months."

"Didn't the council have something for you to do?"

"After what they did to blondey and those two? Who cares if they are pirates, they're better friends to us than anyone you could find on an Atlas cruisers. And look how the council still treated them. You still expect me to take a job from them?"

"Honestly, I didn't think it would affect you."

"Well it does. Anyone that fucks with my friends, deals with me. I don't care if I have to stare down Ozpin himself, I'm not taking work from the people that turned their backs on the ones I care about." Despite her harsh words, a small smile spread across her lips. Ever since the incident, it had become her guilty pleasure to trash talk the council. And no matter what, it always felt better when she knew she wasn't the only one.

A grin grew on Ruby's lips as she listened to her friend. "Good to know you feel the same," she replied as she made her way to the cargo hold. "Let's get this stuff moved. One of them needs to go kinda far, and I was hoping to show ya something when we got back."

* * *

 **AN: Am I late? Damn it, I am. Welp, Happy 11:45 pm MST, and Merry Chirstmas! I wanted to get this out at like, 6 today, but wow did that not happen. Then again, I should have had this out a month ago. I had no idea the final stretch would kick my ass anywhere near that bad. But good news now! I free! Well, as free as I can be with student loans. But hey, that's a start. I hope now that I really can set my own schedule, at least for now, I will be able to find more time to write. But I guess time will tell on that.**

 **Anyways, I just want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Joyous New Year! Also, a special thanks to the people who help me edit this. I kind of dropped this on them at the last minute, but they still did a great job and were a wonderful help! And now it is past midnight... Happy Day-After Chirstmas! I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter! Don't be afraid to leave a review and let me know what you think.**

 **EN: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you all had a good day and if you're in school that you have a good winter break! Yang in there for next semester, it's gonna be Weiss cold if you're up in the north like me. -ODST110, Gorsouul, & MartunaMajor**


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